The Wicked
by Cherry tiger
Summary: The Citizens of Deimon are celebrating the death of a man they deemed Wicked. But is there more to it than what it seems? Could something bigger had happened behind the scenes? Semibased on the Broadway Musical "Wicked", semi-Musical. HiruMamo/SenaSuzu
1. Prologue

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** I really shouldn't have spent all day planning and writing this, but alas, I got hit by the writing bug and it refused to let me go. XD So you get this really weird hybrid. Oh, and it's my first AU for this fandom! So err... yay?

To say that it's based on the musical Wicked wouldn't be quite right (though I was heavily inspired after listening to it today). I'm using a number of songs from the musical (will be omitting a few songs and may change the order a bit) to write this, but don't expect it to be just like the musical. There are no set characters to portray Wicked characters. For example, in one chapter Mamori will be singing Elphaba's part, but in the next chapter it's Hiruma. So hopefully you guys don't get too confused. What I'd suggest is just listening to the song for a moment to get a gist of how it goes, or just read it. The musical pieces are just to create a certain theme of what is going on, and don't really tell that much of a story. But I'm still including them because they're such an inspiration for me. ^^;;;

If the format's confusing, or it's just weird for you, do let me know and include some constructive comments to help me improve. The next chapter won't be a musical piece though, just story based.

Song used in this chapter, though, is the opening scene for Wicked "No One Mourns the Wicked". Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

* * *

The sound of rejoicing and celebration fills the air in the land of Deimon. Unlike in most scenes where people rejoice and celebrate over something good that has happened, the people in Deimon are instead, rejoicing over the death of a man.

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Good news! He's dead!  
The Devil-like man is dead!  
The evilest man there ever was  
The enemy of all of us here in Deimon  
Is Dead!  
Good news!  
Good news!_

Suddenly, a random citizen of Deimon points out to a couple rushing into the scene. "Look! It's Sena and Suzuna!"

Both Sena and Suzuna look distraught, especially Sena. But Suzuna soon smiles, holding Sena's hand tightly, and announces to everyone. "Fellow Deimonians..."

**[Suzuna]** (smiling)  
_Let us be glad  
Let us be grateful  
Let us rejoicify that goodness could subdue  
The wicked workings of you-know-who  
Isn't it nice to know  
That good will conquer evil?  
The truth we all believe'll by and by  
Outlive a lie  
For you and -_

**[Random Male Deimonian]** (cuts in)  
_No one mourns the Wicked!_

**[Random Female Deimonian]**  
_No one cries, "They won't return!"_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_No one lays a lily on their grave_

**[Male Citizens of Deimon]**  
_The good man scorns the Wicked!_

**[Female Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Through their lives, our children learn_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_What we miss, when we misbehave!_

**[Suzuna]** (sadly)  
_And Goodness knows  
The Wicked's lives are lonely  
Goodness knows  
The Wicked die alone  
It just shows when you're Wicked  
You're left only  
On your own_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Yes, Goodness knows  
The Wicked's lives are lonely  
Goodness knows  
The Wicked cry alone  
Nothing grows for the Wicked  
They reap only  
What they've sown_

Sena's head is hanging so low that Suzuna fears he would sink in shame. Suzuna tightens her grip on Sena, who looks at her mournfully. "It'll be all right," she assures him. She then turns to the Citizens of Deimon and says, "Are people truly born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? After all, he had a father, he had a mother as so many do..."

Sena has a flashback to a story he was once told as Suzuna recites it. The scene is of a man about to leave his house and his wife standing by the doorstep.

**[Man]** (holding on to his wife)  
_How I hate to go and leave you lonely._

**[Woman]**  
_That's alright - it's only just one night._

**[Man]** (letting go of his wife and slowly steps away)  
_But know that you're here in my heart  
While I'm out of your sight._

"And like every family - they had their secrets..." continues Suzuna.

The flashback continues to show that another man has appeared in the scene, obviously a lover for the woman.

**[Lover]**  
_Have another drink, my dark-eyed beauty  
I've got one more night left, here in town  
So have another drink of this elixir  
And we'll have ourselves a little mixer  
Have another swallow, little lady,  
And follow me down..._

"And of course, from the moment he was born, he was... well... different," continues Suzuna, almost sheepishly.

The flashback continues to show the woman about to give birth with her husband beside her, and a midwife preparing for the child to be born.

**[Midwife]**  
_It's coming_

**[Man]**  
_Now?_

**[Midwife]**  
_The baby's coming_

**[Man]**  
_And how!_

**[Midwife & Man]**  
_I see a head  
I see a toe  
It's a healthy, perfect,  
Lovely, little -_

As she holds the baby, the Midwife screams as the man cries, "My God!"

His wife asks, "What is it? What's wrong?"

**[Midwife]**  
_How can it be?_

**[Man]**  
_What does it mean?_

**[Midwife]**  
_It's atrocious_

**[Man]**  
_It's obscene!_

**[Midwife & Man]**  
_Like a creature from the darkness  
The baby looks exactly like a DEMON!_

The man looks away from the baby in disgust. "Take it away," he growls. "Take it away!"

The flashback ends.

"So you see - it couldn't have been easy!" explains Suzuna. But the citizens of Deimon turn their heads and continue to rejoice.

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_No one mourns the Wicked!  
Now at last, he's dead and gone!  
Now at last, there's joy throughout the land  
And Goodness knows_

**[Suzuna]** (mournfully)  
_And Goodness knows..._

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_We know what Goodness is  
Goodness knows  
The Wicked die alone_

**[Suzuna]** (mournfully)  
_Die alone..._

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Woe to those  
Who spurn what Goodness is  
They are shown  
No one mourns the Wicked!_

**[Suzuna]** (sadly)  
_Good news!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_No one mourns the Wicked!_

**[Suzuna]** (sadly)  
_Good news!_

**[Citizens of Deimon & Suzuna]**  
_No one mourns the Wicked!  
Wicked!  
Wicked!_

The citizens of Deimon continue to rejoice and celebrate, when suddenly two girls named Ako and Sara rush up to Suzuna and Sena. "Have you seen Mamori?" they ask.

Sena and Suzuna look shocked. "N-no," they both reply. "We haven't."

"That's so odd," says Ako.

"With him dead, she should be around here somewhere," says Sara.

"Please let us know when you find her," says Ako. "You two were especially close to her since... well, you know... right?"

Suzuna laughs nervously. "Of course we are! We're looking for her too! But everyone's so caught up with him being dead that we can't ask for them to help us search for her. But we'll do our best to find her. Right, Sena?"

Sena looks at Suzuna doubtfully for a moment. Then he turns to Ako and Sara. "Yes, we'll let you know when we find her."

The girls thanked them and continue on their way to join the celebrations, while Sena and Suzuna sat on a nearby bench, hands still gripping each other. "Who knew this would happen?" Suzuna spoke up.

"I didn't expect this kind of reaction..." says Sena.

"But I guess it's for the best," says Suzuna. "They would have wanted it to be like this."

Sena smiles sadly for a moment. Yes, 'they' would have wanted this...

* * *

**Extra Notes:** Can anyone confirm whether the two friends Mamori had were named Sara and Ako? I think I might have gotten it wrong but I can't find any proof on this. So any correction on this would be appreciated. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 1

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Do take note that we have now backtracked to the beginning of the story, thus the past tense. No songs were used in this chapter to further develop this on the story-aspect. Enjoy!

~*~

Deimon College was abuzz as the start of the new semester had finally arrived. Some students were checking to see what lessons they would be taking, some were greeting old friends while others talked about their upcoming lessons and gossiped about their teachers.

Somewhere in the shadows, a tall boy with the appearance of what everyone calls "a demon", with blonde, spiky hair, elf-like ears and sharp teeth, sneered as a boy named Sena run up to him with great speed. "Hiruma, what are you doing here? I just settled my accommodation, you need to get working on it too."

"Don't give a fuck," he replied.

"Come on, Hiruma," said Sena. "I know you didn't want to study here, especially since it's College dedicated to studying magic and many don't quite agree to your... appearance and it's symbolism. But you promised–"

"Yeah, I know what I fucking promised," Hiruma sighed. "That I'd come to this Uni to find a way to… stop causing trouble."

"Yeah, and as your problems are magic related, this College is the best that can help you," says Sena. "Anyways, I think your friends Kurita and Musashi have gone to the Principal to alert him about your accommodation problem."

One of Hiruma's veins in his forehead popped. "THAT FUCKING FATTY AND OLD MAN!!!" he shouted, grabbing one of his guns nearby and shot at Sena's feet, whose speed-like reflexes avoided all of them, though Sena looked traumatized.

"H-Hiruma! Calm down! They're just trying to help!" squeaked Sena.

"I don't need their fucking help!!" cried Hiruma as he continued to shoot.

"Aaaahhh!! Hiruma! Stop! Everyone's watching!!" Sena continued to scream as other students began to watch, uncertain of what's going on or what to do.

In a distance, a girl stopped to watch the scene. She pursed her lips in anger and began to walk determinedly forward towards one of the buildings, as two other girls behind her tried to catch up. "Mamori, wait!" the two girls cried.

"How dare this College allow students to hold weaponry!" says Mamori. "I'm going straight to the Principal to complain!"

One of the girls sighed. "Always the Disciplinarian, Mamori," she says.

The other girl nodded. "I thought you said you'd leave that all behind once you're in College?" asked the other girl.

Mamori stopped and turned abruptly to face the other two girls. "Ako, Sara, I can't just ignore the obvious law-breaking actions happening in this school. Something must be done, and I intend to do something about that."

With that, Mamori walked into the building where the Principal's room was as Ako and Sara waited outside. "I don't think Mamori will ever change," sighed Sara.

"Well, I guess that's one good thing about her," said Ako.

Mamori knocked on the Principal's room and then marched right in without an answer. "Mr. Principal, I need to talk..." Mamori stopped and was embarrassed to find that the Principal was already talking to two other people. A big fat looking boy with a pleasant face, and a man who looked really mature. "Oh, I'm sorry..." she said. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Ah, Anezaki Mamori!" cried the Principal as he stood up to greet her. "Yes, yes, I recognize you. You were quite known in your high school as one of the best students in the Disciplinary Committee. Subsequently, your school became famous for having the best conduct in Discipline, and I heard no other school has had the same rep since you joined."

"Thank you, sir, but it really isn't…" said Mamori, blushing lightly.

"Nonsense! Do come join us! Let me introduce you to Kurita and Musashi. We're having a discussion, see, as we're trying to find a place to accommodate one of our students," said the Principal looking at the two people before him.

"Oh, do either of you need a place to stay?" asked Mamori.

"No, no, not us!" cried Kurita. "It's a friend of ours, he's new here and we're having trouble to find a place for him to stay because... well..."

"He can be a handful," replied Musashi. "He has a reputation of being quite... destructive."

Mamori instantly thought of the boy with the gun she just saw, but quickly pushed it out of her mind and thought it couldn't be possible. "You mean like… vandalism?"

Kurita shivered and stuttered while Musashi said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Something like that."

"The thing is we can't just let him stay with anyone," said the Principal. "Due to his demeanour... Unless..." The Principal looked at Mamori thoughtfully. "Miss Anezaki, maybe YOU could be of some help to us."

"M-me?" cried Mamori.

"From what I remember, the dorm you're staying in has two small rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a small hall. You've yet to find a roommate, am I right?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Miss Anezaki, I think with your great history of Discipline, I believe you would be the ideal roommate for this boy."

Musashi got up quickly. "That's insane. You can't let a girl handle this guy, he could harm her."

"Harm me?" whispered Mamori.

"I know this sounds absurd," said the Principal. "But so far none of the students I know have the capability of handling this boy that you speak of. Miss Anezaki is the only one with a record of handling even the biggest gangsters like the Ha-Ha Brothers –"

"You managed to beat down the Ha-Ha Brothers?!" cried Kurita.

"W-well..." said Mamori, but Musashi cut her off.

"Even so, for them to STAY together is just completely insane."

"Miss Anezaki," said the Principal, looking directly at her. "Please try to understand the situation here. We really need someone to look out for this boy, as we'll never know what he might do or who he might harm. I trust you are strong enough for this challenge?"

Mamori thought of the boy who was getting shot, and other forms of harm this evil boy could potentially cause. Her desire for justice rose in her, and fire lit up her eyes. "If it means that the students of Deimon College will be safe, I will do it sir."

Kurita bawled in happiness while Musashi stared at her for a moment. "I hope you know what you're doing," he said to her.

A moment of doubt flickered in her mind, but Mamori stood her ground. "Yes, I do," she replied with confidence.

Musashi continued to stare at her, then sighed and looked away. "Very well then. I'll give you my number, so that in case anything happens, you can call me."

"A-ah," Mamori nodded. "Okay."

Later on, Kurita and Musashi greeted Hiruma, who was alone now and still in the shadows. "Where's Sena?" asked Kurita.

"Ran off after I told him to fuck off," Hiruma replied.

"You really shouldn't treat him badly, Hiruma," said Musashi. "He really means well and he does want to help you."

"Just like us!" said Kurita. "By the way, we found a place for you to stay for the semester!"

"Keh, you actually succeeded with that?" said Hiruma.

"Yup! And you're lucky too! Cause while the school normally ensures that each dorm has the same gender, you're going to stay with a girl!"

Hiruma's eyes widened with shock. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"Yeah, you're staying with a girl! And she's quite pretty, too, and was quite famous in her last school…" but Kurita stopped when he saw Hiruma slowly rise up and raise a rifle at Kurita. "H-Hiruma?"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!!" Hiruma shouted as he shot a few rounds at Kurita. The bullets flew off of Kurita's body as he fell to the ground. Hiruma pointed the gun at Musashi. "Fucking old man, did you agree to this?!"

Musashi sighed. "Yes, I did."

"I'd shoot you dead right here and now," Hiruma growled, his rifle aimed dangerously at Musashi's head.

"Go ahead," said Musashi. "Let's see how much good that will do for you."

Hiruma placed a finger on the trigger, but then lowered it, with a defeated look on his face. "Don't you know how risky it is? I could hurt that girl."

"I know..." replied Musashi. "But fate has given this to us so we have to make do with it. I'll try to be around as much as I can. But Hiruma..." Musashi looked at Hiruma. "Please control yourself around her."

"Keh," replied Hiruma, then decided to kick Kurita. "Get up, Fucking Fatty."

"Ouch!" cried Kurita. "Hiruma! That hurt!"

"Well, it's a good thing your skin is really thick, which is oddly enough your power," said Musashi. "You'd be dead by now if you didn't have it. And it makes good practice for you, right, Hiruma?"

"The Fucking Fatty's a walking target," said Hiruma.

"Hey! It's not my fault that I'm this size!" said Kurita as he got up, then smiled. "But I'm glad that if you ever needed to vent, you can shoot me and I'll be fine!"

"That's... not something to be proud of, Kurita," said Musashi, shaking his head. Then he saw Hiruma walking away. "Where are you going?"

"Gonna get my things," Hiruma replied. "Looks like I have a lot to prepare for this new semester."


	3. Chapter 2

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Monta finally makes an appearance, albeit a small one. XD He'll play a bigger role in the later chapters.

Upon planning this story, I realise that I might be writing my first longest multi-chaptered fic. Well, if I ever finish it and don't get into a hiatus. *touch wood*

Song used here is "What is this feeling?" from the musical Wicked. A reminder that you don't necessarily have to listen and can skip the musical parts, or just skim through. They don't play too much of a vital role other than to create some fun imagery. Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

~*~

Mamori felt a little nervous as she unpacked her belongings in her room. Sure, she and her new roommate would have their own rooms, but everything else from there will be shared. And it doesn't help that they're living on campus with other students around them, so they'd surely gossip.

And from what little she knew about her roommate, was that he was a troublemaker. Ako and Sara were with her helping her unpack as well, but they were mostly there to see this new roommate, especially since they found out he was a guy.

They heard the door knock and instantly Mamori got up to open it. There stood Musashi and Kurita, holding a few boxes. "Hello, Miss Anezaki, greeted Kurita happily.

"Oh, just call me Mamori, it's fine," she replied. "Come in, I'll show you the room." Mamori pointed towards the other room and looked for any signs of her roommate, but he didn't seem to be anywhere.

"He'll be here any moment," said Musashi, noticing Mamori's searching eyes.

"Ah, yeah... I was just..." said Mamori, sounding oddly nervous, until she heard a gunshot in the distance.

"Keep moving, Fucking Shorty!"

"Hiiiieee!!!"

Mamori watched as the boy she saw being bullied rushed into the doorway, carrying a box, then panicked as he slumped unto the ground breathless. "Are you all right?!" she gasped, as she ran next to the boy to check for any injuries. "Are you hurt?!"

"Oi, what the fuck are you doing just lying there?" Mamori heard a voice say by the door. She looked up and saw that it was the exact boy that was carrying weaponry... In fact, he was holding one right now! Mamori fumed as she rose up. "How DARE you bully this boy!!" she cried.

"Harh?!" said Hiruma. "What the fuck's your problem?!"

"Don't you know those things could kill people?!" Mamori continued to shout pointing at his gun. "Put that away right now!!"

"And why the fuck should I listen to you, fucking girl?" sneered Hiruma. Ako and Sara, who were watching from a distance, gasped and seemed to look oddly terrified at the sight of Hiruma.

"You watch your mouth you... you... Or I'll be sure to sew it shut!" Mamori shouted, unable to think of a good comeback.

Hiruma cackled. "Just try, you fucking..." He suddenly stopped when Musashi glared at him and Kurita shivered, waving his hands and shaking his head to stop Hiruma. He then noticed Sara and Ako, who were giving him horrified looks that seem all too familiar to Hiruma.

Mamori took this chance to help Sena up. "Are you okay?" she asked again, as Sena got up.

"I'm fine!" replied Sena. "Sorry, I've just been running around doing errands today for the Football club that I got too drained to help out and kind of lost it back there. Sorry..."

"Fucking shorty, if you can't fucking do it right then you shouldn't do it!" growled Hiruma.

"But I wanted to help!" whimpered Sena.

"Don't be mean to him!" cried Mamori, who stood in front of Sena and glared at Hiruma. "Can't you see he means well?"

Hiruma glared back and opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. "Whatever, which is my fucking room?"

Mamori was surprised by his sudden change, but decided to continue being strong. "Over there," she pointed to where Musashi and Kurita waited. Hiruma carried his bag, which seemed to be the heaviest, as Musashi, Kurita and Sena carried what appeared to be light and small boxes.

She also noted that they didn't stay long to help him unpack, and as the dorm was too small to fit all seven of them, it felt crowded especially with Kurita around. So they then prepared to leave. "It was nice to meet you Miss..." said Sena.

"Anezaki Mamori. But you can call me Mamori," said Mamori pleasantly.

"I'm Kobayakawa Sena. But you can call me Sena. It was a pleasure to meet you and..." Sena hesitated. "I know he may seem very mean but he really doesn't mean any harm. He can't help it especially since..."

"Eh?" went Mamori but Sena shook his head.

"It's okay, I don't think it's my place to say it," said Sena. He rushed to join Musashi and Kurita, who were waiting for him.

Sara and Ako also had to bid farewell as they had to prepare dinner, though they looked oddly scared, leaving only herself and Youichi Hiruma, whose name Musashi had informed her a few minutes earlier. "I don't think he'll give you a proper introduction," he had said.

Mamori sighed. She closed the door in her room and sat at her desk, taking out a piece of paper and began to write.

Back in Hiruma's room, he also had a pen and paper set before him. Musashi had forced him to write a letter back to his father, whom he detested so much. But he had to do it or else his father might take him away from here where he felt sure he needed to be for now.

"To my dearest Mother and Father..." wrote Mamori.

"Fucking Dad," wrote Hiruma.

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_There's been some confusion  
Over here in where I live_

**[Hiruma]**  
_But of course, it's not a big deal_

**[Mamori]**  
_But of course, I'll rise above it_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_For I know that's how you'd want me to respond  
Yes  
There's been some confusion  
For you see, my roommate is:_

**[Mamori]**  
_Unusually and exceedingly peculiar  
And altogether quite impossible to describe_

**[Hiruma]** (frowning)  
_Fucking annoying._

The two of them spent most of their time unpacking that they barely saw each other. Not until the next day, where they were both walking to campus, glaring at each other.

**[Mamori]**  
_What is this feeling,  
So sudden and new?_

**[Hiruma]**  
_I felt the moment  
I laid eyes on you_

**[Mamori]**  
_My pulse is rushing_

**[Hiruma]**  
_My head is reeling_

**[Mamori]**  
_My face is flushing_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_What is this feeling?  
Fervid as a flame,  
Does it have a name?  
Yes!_

_Loathing!  
Unadulterated loathing!_

**[Mamori]**  
_For your face_

**[Hiruma]**  
_Your voice_

**[Mamori]**  
_Your clothing_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Let's just say - I loathe it all  
Every little trait, however small  
Makes my very flesh begin to crawl  
With simple utter loathing_

_There's a strange exhilaration  
In such total detestation  
It's so pure, so strong!_

_Though I do admit it came on fast  
Still I do believe that it can last  
And I will be loathing  
Loathing you  
My whole life long!_

As they approached the college, a bunch of students clamoured around Mamori, who suddenly became popular as gossip had spread that the two of them were living together.

**[Deimon College Students]**  
_Dear Mamori, you are just too good  
How do you stand it? I don't think I could!  
He's a terror! He's a Tartar!  
We don't mean to show a bias,  
But Mamori, you're a martyr!_

**[Mamori]** (awkward and shrugging)  
_Well, these things are sent to try us!_

**[Deimon College Students]** (glaring at Hiruma who looks away)  
_Poor Mamori, forced to reside  
With someone so disgusticified  
We just want to tell you:  
We're all on your side!  
We share your loathing!_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]** (continues to walk to class, glaring at each other)  
_What is this feeling  
So sudden and new?_

**[Deimon College Students]**  
_Unadulterated loathing_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_I felt the moment I laid eyes on you_

**[Deimon College Students]**  
_For his face, his voice, his clothing_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_My pulse is rushing_

**[Deimon College Students]**  
_Let's just say_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_My head is reeling_

**[Deimon College Students]**  
_We loathe it all!_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Oh, what is this feeling?_

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_Every little trait however small_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Does it have a name?_

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_Makes our very flesh being to crawl_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Yes  
Ahhh…_

_Loathing!_

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_Loathing!_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_There's a strange exhilaration_

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_Loathing!_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_In such total detestation_

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_Loathing!_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_It's so pure, so strong!_

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_So strong!_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Though I do admit it came on fast  
Still I do believe that it can last  
And I will be..._

**[Deimon Uni Students]** (in the background)  
_Loathing..._

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Loathing  
For forever..._

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_Loathing..._

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Loathing,  
Truly deeply loathing you!_

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_Loathing you!_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]** (both with arms crossed over their chest, back to back, looking away)  
_My whole life long!_

**[Deimon Uni Students]**  
_Loathing  
Unadulterated loathing_

Hiruma turns with a grin and whispers into Mamori's ear. "Boo!"

"AAH!" Mamori screamed as she tried to push Hiruma away, but he smartly avoided her. "Don't come near me like that!"

Hiruma cackled and walked into a building where his class would be held. "Get out of the fucking away," Hiruma growled as he kicked a boy who blocked him out of the way.

"Stop that! You'll hurt other people!" cried Mamori as she rushed to the boy's side. "Did he hurt you?"

The boy looked at her, his eyes wide and jaw dropped. "Uuhhh... I'm fine... max..." he said.

"That's good," said Mamori as she smiled at him. But she quickly frowned and ran up to Hiruma.

"Stop following me," he growled.

"I'm not, my class is this way," replied Mamori, still glaring at him. "And I'm warning you, hurt one more person and I'll-"

"Whack my hand with a ruler?" Hiruma cackled.

The boy watched in awe as Mamori continued to fight with Hiruma. Sena ran next to the boy and greeted him. "Hey, Monta, what's wrong?"

"I told you my name is Raimon Tarou!" scolded Monta. "I don't know why you keep calling me that even though we just became friends because of football! But I'll tell you what's wrong... My heart has been captured max!" he said, eyes sparkling as he continued to look at Mamori.

"What?!" cried Sena in surprise. "Who?!"

"There! That beautiful girl right there! I was hurt by that evil looking demon but she came right up to me and made sure I was all right! She's just like an angel!"

Sena saw Mamori and Hiruma as they walked down a corner. "Oh, that's Anezaki Mamori and her new roommate, Hiruma Youichi."

"Oh," said Monta at first. Then slowly the words sunk into him. "ROOMMATE?!! MUKYAAA!!"

"A-ah! I shouldn't have said that!" said Sena. "L-look at the time, Monta! Let's hurry up to the class!" Sena grabbed Monta by the wrist and zoomed to class.

"My name's not Montaaaaa~!" he cried as he was dragged to class.


	4. Chapter 3

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Very short chapter, but it was, in my opinion, necessary as I needed to develop Hiruma and Mamori's relationship a bit more before we head on to the main story. So yeah, everything really begins in the next chapter. So I hope I don't bore you guys with this one. I'll definitely post the next one soon! Maybe in over 12 hours or so.

No musical scenes in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

~*~

Mamori came back from classes exhausted as she went to lie down on her bed for a few moments. "What an odd day..." she muttered to herself as she recalled what happened.

It turned out that Hiruma and her attend one class together, and as they were both the last to come in, they were forced to sit together. Despite their teacher Doburoku's best attempts to keep the class distracted with studies and homework, there was a strange stillness in the air as everyone seemed stiff at the idea that Hiruma was among them.

But once she's away from him, almost everyone would talk to her. Mostly students, curious about how did Mamori end up having a guy for a roommate... and a demon to boot!

Now the demon part was foreign to Mamori, as when she first saw him she thought he was just a typical guy who was trying to look evil. But as she went to class today, Sara and Ako talked to her nervously, asking whether Hiruma had done anything so far.

"I don't understand why you girls are so worried," Mamori had said earlier that day. "You make it sound like he'll creep into my room and stab me–"

"He might!" cried Sara. "He looks like he would!"

"Mamori, he isn't dressing up like this everyday," said Ako. "This is how he looks, exactly like that. I've heard stories about him. He's a real demon. Everyone who gets close to him is cursed. I heard his mother died because of him."

"You're kidding me, Ako," said Mamori. "How can you believe such rumours? And they're terrible to boot! I refuse to believe them!"

"Just promise me, Mamori!" cried Sara, holding on to Mamori's hands. "Just promise that you'll keep your guard on him! Lock your room door! Use a crucifix, get holy water, just... don't get yourself hurt!"

Mamori sighed. This really wasn't what she expected when she came to Deimon College. Barely a week in and already she had to fear for her life.

She heard a door open and close and knew Hiruma must've come in. She got up to greet him but by the time she opened her door, Hiruma had closed his. She sighed again, and as she looked at her watch, she decided it was time to make dinner.

They both share a fridge but to her surprise, only her items remained and there were none of his. "Doesn't he eat?" Mamori murmured to herself as she recalled his oddly skinny physique. She then proceeded to cook rice and stir fry.

She heard him come out of his room as she was in the middle of dinner. "Are you eating?" Mamori asked.

Hiruma shook his head, his hair messier than usual. "Gonna take a piss then head back to sleep again."

Mamori raised her eyebrows at the language he used and the fact that he obviously wasn't going to eat. She quickly got up and prepared another bowl.

Hiruma stepped out of the bathroom with Mamori, arms crossed, staring at him. "What, you needed to use it too?"

Mamori blushed a little then said, "No. Come and eat."

"Hah?!" Hiruma replied but looked at the kitchen table where there was a bowl of rice and some serving of stir fry waiting for him.

"It's not much," said Mamori. "I thought you might be going out to eat or something. But seeing as you obviously aren't going to eat and show no signs of having any food, you can have some of mine."

"I don't want your fucking food," said Hiruma almost angrily.

Mamori turned even redder and said, "Fine! Don't eat it! But you could at least be a bit more polite about it!"

"I didn't ask you to prepare it for me, did I? So why should I fucking care?" said Hiruma.

"Fine! Don't then! I don't even know why I worried about you and the fact that you're so skinny like you haven't eaten well in weeks!"

"What, you checking me out or something?"

"No!" cried Mamori, surprised. "I just... Argh! I just care, ok? So why can't you at least be a little nicer? You don't even have to thank me verbally, just eat this and I'll at least feel a bit better."

Hiruma stared at her for a moment. Then turned his back and said, "You should stop sounding like a fucking mother, it's disturbing."

He entered his room as Mamori stomped her feet and shouted something he couldn't catch. He then laid on his bed and proceeded to sleep, trying to ignore his howling stomach.

Mamori sighed as her anger boiled down. She looked at the bowl of rice and stir fry and sighed, annoyed that today had been quite a hard day.

Around midnight, the pain in Hiruma's stomach doubled. So he got up and decided to drink some water and eat the chewing gum he had to help keep him distracted. He left his room and went into the kitchen...

To find his food still waiting for him, cling wrapped though cold. He cursed inwardly and tried to ignore it as best as he could, as he went to the sink to get some water.

Mamori woke up the next day wondering why she was feeling miserable. Then she remembered what happened yesterday and groaned. She got up and decided to do the dishes first before she prepared breakfast then change for class.

Still a little sleepy she went to the sink, and was surprised that there were no dishes. "But... I was soaking the pot I cooked the rice in..." then Mamori remembered she had left food out for Hiruma. She quickly turned her head to look at the kitchen table...

To find that it was spotless. She looked at the dish rack and found all dishes clean and dry.

She heard Hiruma open his door and knew he was heading straight to the bathroom. She quickly ran and cried, "Hiruma!"

It was the first time she had ever said his name, and she knew he knew it, judging by the way his ears twitched for a moment. "What?" he asked.

"Did...," Mamori hesitated, worried that he might tell her off. "Did you eat...?"

"I don't know what you're fucking talking about," said Hiruma and entered the bathroom.

Mamori stared at the bathroom door for a moment. For a moment, her heart fluttered, as though she was rejoicing inside. Which didn't make sense to her at all. She could feel her face warming up, so she slapped herself on the forehead and said, "Stop thinking too much! That can't have meant anything!"

But she found herself unable to resist in leaving a sandwich on the kitchen table, as she ate some of hers walking to class, feeling a bit too embarrassed to stay back and see Hiruma's reaction.

As she approached Deimon College, she saw Kurita walking before her and quickly ran up to him. "Kurita!"

"Ah, Mamori! Good morning! How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied airily as she tried to catch her breath.

"I hope Hiruma hasn't given you a hard time. I know he can be really mean and all but–"

"I know, Kurita, but I wanted to ask you something," said Mamori.

"Anything! What is it?"

"Is Hiruma broke?"

Kurita stopped in his tracks and shivered a little. "W-what makes you say that?"

"Well... I noticed he doesn't eat much and is always confined in his room. And doesn't he seem way too skinny for you? I mean, no offence..." Mamori hastily added, remembering Kurita's size.

"No, no, it's fine," said Kurita. "Well, I never expected you to notice so quickly but Hiruma does have trouble when it comes to money. His father gives him enough for a place to stay as well as the tuition fees for College. But things like food and clothes can be tough for him as his father doesn't give him much for allowance. So we normally give him some of ours... well, Musashi gives his clothes cause obviously mine can fit a circus," he chuckled.

Mamori sweat-dropped and felt pretty sure it was Hiruma who gave Kurita's clothes such a description. "But lately," Kurita continued, "he's confined himself a lot more and we find it hard to help him. So we've been dragging him a lot and even made him promise us that he'd at least try to..." Kurita suddenly stopped and shivered as though he just saw a ghost. "O-oh, I think I spoke too much! P-Please d-don't tell Hi-Hiruma!"

"Kurita, are you okay?" asked Mamori, noting that Kurita's shivers can be pretty scary. "Seriously, if Hiruma is hurting you then–"

"N-no, he's n-not hurting m-me," said Kurita, swallowing hard. "I j-just promised not to mention those things ever! A-and now I b-blurted it out! Please don't tell him, Mamori! Please!"

"Okay, I promise I won't tell him! Just calm down!" said Mamori worryingly.

Kurita instantly stopped shivering. "All right then! Let's head off for class!"

Mamori shook her head and laughed a little, glad that Kurita was better. As she sat for class, her mind wandered a lot, thinking what would have happened to Hiruma had he not made such good friends.


	5. Chapter 4

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** I was supposed to post this earlier in the day but got hit with a bad headache that made it hard for me to stay in front of the computer long. -___-

I didn't expect the chapter to end up so long. XD I was so tempted to split the musical part into the next chapter, but thought it best to keep one song in one chapter than to split the lyrics. So this is the version that you get.

Song used is "Dancing Through Life" from Wicked. As usual, you don't necessarily have to listen, just skim through. They don't play too much of a vital role other than to create some fun imagery. Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

~*~

Mamori was on her way to another class one morning when she suddenly found Sena next to her. "S-Sena! When did you get here?!" she cried.

"Oh!" said Sena, surprised as she was. "I-I didn't realize I sped up next to you, Mamori. I'm sorry," he said a little sheepishly. "Sometimes I don't know my own speed."

"But that really is amazing, to be able to run that fast," said Mamori.

"Yeah, but I can't do much sports without it being seen as cheating," said Sena. "But then again, I do my best to help out others through other ways like helping to pick up the balls scattered around the field and..."

Mamori suddenly heard a girl scream and in barely a second saw a girl fall down the stairs behind them. Before she could even gasp, Sena was already by the end of the stairs as the girl fell right on top of him.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Mamori as she ran up to them. "Are you guys all right?"

"I-I'm okay," said the girl, who was quite petite, and was wearing what appeared to be a cheerleader's outfit. "I'm sooo sorry! I completely spaced out!" She looked at Sena whom she was still pinning down. "Are you okay?"

Sena seemed awestruck for a moment, barely able to speak. Then he gasped and said, "I'm sorry, but can you move your hand? You're crushing my stomach..."

"OH!" the girl gasped and quickly got up. "I'm sorry! I'm just... Oh, I'm just completely spacing out right now, I'm so sorry."

Sena got up slowly, still staring at the girl. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, things are getting a bit hectic on my side," she explained. "We cheerleaders are getting ready for the arrival of one of the most popular guys ever, and yet..." she faltered, looking down.

"Yet?" asked Sena and Mamori.

"Well, I'm small, you see... and the other girls keep pushing me out from helping just because they don't think I quite cut it."

"Well, that's not fair! Sena's small, too, but he's incredibly talented! I'm sure you're just as talented as those other girls," said Mamori as Sena blushed a little.

"Yes, but these girls... well... they just have these standards that I have to follow or else I'll be kicked out of the team," the girl said. "Oh, why am I ranting to you guys out of nowhere? I guess I really am spacing out. By the way, my name's—"

"SUZUNA!" they heard another girl cry from the top of the stairs, who was tall, curvy and was wearing the same uniform as her.

"Y-yes!" Suzuna squeaked.

"What are you doing just standing there? He's on his way! All the other girls are ready to greet him and here you are talking to..." she gave a disgusted look at Sena and Mamori. "Anyways, get moving!"

"Right!" said Suzuna, who grinned a little sadly and waved at Sena and Mamori as she ran out of the building.

"That poor girl..." said Mamori. "I wonder why did she choose to become a cheerleader?"

"Because she can dance," said Sena almost breathlessly. Mamori grinned a little at Sena who flustered. "I-I mean, I've seen her around! Especially on the field! Out of all the other girls, she's the most flexible. She just doesn't stand out a lot because of her size."

"Well, she obviously stands out for you," Mamori teased a little.

"Eheh..." said Sena sheepishly.

"Attention please," they heard a voice from the speakers around the college say. "We would like to announce that classes for today have been cancelled."

"What?" said Mamori as the announcer repeated himself. "But why?" Then they heard cheering from outside the building they were in. They both quickly walked out and pushed themselves forward in the thick crowd to see what everyone was cheering about.

It was then that they saw a man with dreadlocks, sunglasses and wearing a loud printed outfit stand in the middle of the college grounds, just like a celebrity. The cheerleaders especially were cheering their lungs out.

"Who is this guy?" said Mamori, and one girl next to her glared in reply.

"It's Agon! The most hottest and popular guy known in history! He's a great sportsman and I hear he's amazing in bed!" the girl squealed and almost melted in reply.

"O-kay..." Mamori shook her head, thinking she really didn't want to know that last point.

"Was it you who got all classes cancelled today?" one guy shouted at Agon from a distance.

Agon nodded. "Yes. After all, I'm finally here and I thought we might as well celebrate."

All the girls cheered and squealed, especially the cheerleaders. Mamori was annoyed by this reply, "But classes are important! I don't see why you being here should require classes to be cancelled like that."

The crowd suddenly went silent. Sena panicked as Mamori stood her ground staring at Agon, who grinned at her. He walked up to her slowly, removing his glasses. "Well, don't you look interesting..." he said. "Let me tell you a little bit of something about classes though..."

**[Agon]**  
_The trouble with schools is  
They always try to teach the wrong lessons  
Believe me, I've been kicked out  
Of enough of them to know  
They want you to become less callow  
Less shallow  
But I say: why invite stress in?  
Stop studying strife  
And learn to live the unexamined life_

Agon took Mamori's hand and led her to the middle of the school ground where everyone could see them. Mamori blushed a little but continued to glare at him.

**[Agon]**  
_Dancing through life  
Skimming the surface  
Gliding where turf is smooth  
Life's more painless  
For the brainless  
Why think too hard  
When it's so soothing  
Dancing through life  
No need to tough it  
When you can slough it off as I do  
Nothing matters  
But knowing nothing matters  
It's just life  
So keep dancing through_

Agon then winks at the cheerleaders who were more than eager to join him in dancing, but they pushed Suzuna back into the crowd. Mamori pulled away and looked for Sena, who was now lost in the crowd.

**[Agon]**  
_Dancing through life  
Swaying and sweeping  
And always keeping cool  
Life is fraught-less  
When you're thoughtless  
Those who don't try  
Never look foolish  
Dancing through life  
Mindless and careless  
Make sure you're where less trouble is rife  
Woes are fleeting  
Blows are glancing  
When you're dancing  
Through life_

The cheerleaders around him sighed, as the stared at him longingly. "So where's the best place to celebrate my arrival?"

One cheerleader quickly raised her hand in excitement and said, "That would be the Deimon Dance Room!"

"Sounds perfect!" said Agon.

**[Agon]**  
_Let's go down to the Deimon Dance Room  
We'll meet there later tonight  
We can dance till it's light  
Find the prettiest girl  
Give her a whirl  
Right on down to the Deimon Dance Room  
Come on - follow me  
You'll be happy to be there_

**[Deimon College Students]** (joining in dancing)  
_Dancing through life  
Down at the Dance Room_

**[Agon]**  
_If only dancing  
Is what we come to do_

**[Deimon College Students]**  
_Nothing matters  
But knowing nothing matters  
It's just life_

**[Agon]**  
_So keep dancing through_

"Mamori!" she heard Sena cry.

"Oh, Sena! Finally, thank goodness," said Mamori.

"Yeah, the crowd's finally moved. I guess they're all looking for partners for this dance," said Sena.

"Well, you might as well go too, then," said Mamori as she noticed Suzuna looking crestfallen as the other cheerleaders hung on to the other popular guys.

"B-b-but with who?" said Sena, pretending not to notice where Mamori's looking. Mamori shook her head, took Sena's arm and pointed directly at Suzuna.

**[Mamori]**  
_See that tragically beautiful girl  
The one over there  
It seems so unfair  
Everyone's on a spree  
And not she  
Gee  
I know someone would be her hero  
If that someone were to go invite her_

Sena thought for a moment. "W-well, I guess I'll invite her then!" he said nervously.

"That's great!" said Mamori. She then pushed Sena's back towards Suzuna. "You do just that and have fun!"

She watched happily as Sena approached Suzuna nervously, as Suzuna looked down, trying to hide her smile. Mamori, satisfied by this, then decided to go back to her dorm when suddenly Agon appeared behind her.

"So I'll pick you up around eight?" he said.

"What? Me?" said Mamori in surprise.

"Why, of course!" he said. "After all..."

**[Agon]**  
_Now that we've met one another  
It's clear we deserve each other  
I'm perfect_

**[Mamori]**  
_You're perfect?_

**[Agon]** (grabs Mamori and pulls her towards the dancing crowd)  
_So we're perfect together  
Born to be forever  
Dancing through life_

Mamori pulled herself away from Agon. "Look, I'm sorry but I have these assignments to finish and I really can't be wasting my time at these dances..."

"Tch, did you not hear anything I said earlier? Relax! Take a load off! I'll be by your place at eight," said Agon determinedly as he turned and walked away.

"You don't even know where I live!" cried Mamori, but Agon merely waved from the back.

Mamori sighed. If Agon could get the college to stop classes for the day, he could surely go through their records to find out where she lives. She was then trying to form a plan to not be in the dorm at eight when Sena ran up to her excitedly. "She agreed! I can't believe it! I thought she'd reject me for sure as I'm not one of the popular guys!"

**[Sena]**  
_Finally, for this one night  
I'm about to have a fun night  
With this pretty girl  
Too popular for me  
And I only wish there were  
Something I could do for her  
To repay her  
Mamori, see?  
We deserve each other  
And somehow you helped it come true  
We deserve each other,  
Me and her_

"I really hope you'll come too, though..." said Sena, looking a bit nervous.

Mamori cringed a little. She really didn't want to go, but now felt bad as surely Sena would need her support. With a hesitant sigh, she nodded and said, "I'll be there."

Mamori walked back to her dorm slowly, feeling a little worried about tonight. She had never attended anything like this. She even skipped her High School Prom to catch the Ha-Ha Brothers from causing more trouble. Mamori panicked for a moment when she realized she didn't have any clothes to wear for this dance, when she then heard Suzuna call her from behind.

"Mamori!" cried Suzuna, running up to her, apparently holding a bag.

"Ah, Suzuna!" replied Mamori, smiling. "You know my name!"

Suzuna stopped in front of her and tried to catch her breath for a while. Then she said excitedly, "I heard Agon asked you out for the dance! That's amazing! The other cheerleaders are so jealous of you!"

Mamori wanted to smack her forehead upon hearing that. Of course! The cheerleaders! Another aspect she forgot. "Oh no, I really, really don't think I can go..."

"But you have to! Agon sent me here to give this to you!" And with that Suzuna took out a short black dress from the bag she was carrying. Mamori gave a disdainful sort of look.

"Oh, it's really pretty once you try it on!" said Suzuna, but Mamori continued to look down.

Suzuna then tried to comfort Mamori a little.

**[Suzuna]**  
_It's really, uh, cute, don't you think?  
You know black is this year's pink  
You deserve each other  
This dress and you  
You're both so smart  
You deserve each other  
So here, out of the goodness of his heart!_

Mamori took the dress hesitantly, but nodded and smiled sweetly at Suzuna. "Thank you so much."

"I'm so looking forward to tonight!" said Suzuna. "It's going to be beautiful and I really can't wait to see…" Suzuna stopped herself and blushed a little. "Well, I'll see you tonight then."

As Mamori entered her dorm, Hiruma was there in the hall, lying down on one of the couches reading what appeared to be a text book. "So you heard classes were cancelled?" she asked him.

"Some fucking dread guy decided it, right?" he replied. "They're going to have some big fucking party."

Mamori sighed. "Yes, and it seems that the dread guy has asked me out."

For the first time, Mamori saw Hiruma looked surprised. "That fucking dread asked you out?"

Mamori shrugged. "Strangely enough."

Hiruma then saw that Mamori was carrying the black dress. "You're going?"

"Sena's going and I really want to support him."

"The fucking shorty's going? What is this, the end of the world?" said Hiruma. "Who's he going with?"

"One of the cheerleaders," said Mamori. "Suzuna."

"Oh," said Hiruma, suddenly falling back to his 'I-don't-give-a-damn' mode. "Must be the fucking skates."

"Skates?" asked Mamori, surprised.

"Yeah, she used to wear those fucking rollerblades and skated all around," he said. "She took them off since she joined that cheerleading team. That fucking shorty has been watching her since high school. They've never spoken to each other though."

Mamori was fascinated by this fact. "You've known Sena for THAT long?"

"Keh, stop prying," said Hiruma irritably. "You better get ready for your fucking date. Most women seem to enjoy taking their fucking time to put layers and layers of shit on their faces."

"It's not a date! And stop using that language!" cried Mamori. But as she looked at the dress she was holding, she sighed and went into her room. Hiruma saw the look she gave, but carried on reading instead.

The day soon passed on to night and the Deimon Ballroom was filled with beautiful music and people in coloured and formal outfits. Excitement was in the air as a number of them began to dance on the dancefloor, while Sena stood nervously next to Suzuna, who was looking at the cheerleaders hanging on to their dates and giggling happily.

"Hey Suzuna," said Sena.

"Yes?" she replied, finally looking at him.

**[Sena]**  
_Suzuna  
I've got something to confess, a  
Reason why, well -  
Why I asked you here tonight  
Now I know you'd rather be..._

"Oh Sena," said Suzuna. "I know why."

"You do?" asked Sena, surprised.

**[Suzuna]**  
_It's because I was lonely  
And you felt sorry for me  
Well - isn't that right?_

"No! No!" cried Sena. "It's because... because..."

**[Sena]** (nervously)  
_Because you are so beautiful!_

**[Suzuna]** (smiling happily and holds Sena's hands)  
_Oh, Sena, I think you're wonderful!  
And we deserve each other  
Don't you see, this is our chance?  
We deserve each other  
Don't we, Sena?_

**[Sena]** (smiling softly)  
_You know what?  
Let's dance._

"What?!" cried Suzuna as Sena pulled her to the dance floor.

**[Sena]**  
_Let's dance!_

The other cheerleaders watched as Sena and Suzuna danced, Suzuna laughing and giggling as Sena clumsily danced and she gladly took the lead. The cheerleaders continued to look disapprovingly.

**[Deimon College Students]**  
_Dancing through life  
Down at the Dance Room  
If only dancing  
Is what we come to!  
And the strange thing  
Your life could end up changing  
While you're dancing  
Through!_

"Look out!" they heard someone cry. The music instantly stopped as the students turn to look for the source of the voice...

And gasped.

~*~

**Extra Notes:** CLIFFHANGER!! *gets shot* Yes, I'm evil like that. Anyways, in case you decided to skip the musical parts, the most important aspect that happened is that Sena and Suzuna actually became an item. This plays a role later on. Hope you enjoyed this!


	6. Chapter 5

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Continuation of the last chapter. Kind of short. Updates will be scarce right now but I'll try to post at least one chapter per week. There are no musical numbers in this chapter, so it should be an easier read. Do let me know if my writing for this chapter is okay, especially in terms of descriptions. I feel like I left out a bit too much on that area but can't seem to figure out where else to fill it in.

Enjoy!

~*~

Mamori looked into the mirror nervously, constantly pulling the hem of her dress. She didn't have many accessories, all she had were simple studded earrings and a simple silver necklace with a silver heart pendant given to her as a present from Ako. She was lucky to have black shoes, though the heels were merely an inch high as Mamori hated high heels and how they get in the way. She left her hair down as she really couldn't come up with any style that suited. She just wasn't that much of a fashion expert, no matter how many magazines she read.

She sighed, remembering how she was determined to change once she was a college student. In the end, she still felt like her old self, still struggling to come to terms as to who she really is. Maybe she should just accept that this is how she'll be for the rest of her life.

There was a knock on the door, and instantly she knew who it was. She let out another sigh, took a deep breath, and walked out of her room.

Hiruma was not in the hall now. He must be in his room, was what Mamori thought. She opened the main door to find a guy that was definitely from her college standing by the doorstep. "I'm here to pick you up in Agon's stead," he said. "He requested to see you at the Dance Room."

"I see..." she replied, feeling a little relieved that Agon wasn't going to see her just yet. She still couldn't understand why Agon asked her out when the cheerleaders were obviously eyeing for him. As she walked next to her escort, her nervousness kicked in and she seemed to be walking slower. She couldn't help but feel as though she didn't want this at all.

"Is something wrong?" the boy asked.

"I'm fine... I just... I don't think I want to go after all," said Mamori.

"I don't think that's possible," the boy replied. "You have to go. Once Agon expects you to do something, there's no way you can get out of it."

"Just tell him I'm sick or something," said Mamori, and for a moment was surprised by how she actually wanted someone to lie for her.

"Look, you can't run away from this," said the boy, becoming increasingly persistent. "You have to go for the dance. Agon's expecting you."

"But why? He doesn't even know me!"

"Does it look like I know or care? All he said was that YOU must be there and I'm here to fulfill that! Now come on!" The boy grabbed Mamori's wrist and began to pull her. The more Mamori tried to pull away, the tighter his grip became.

"Let go...!" said Mamori through gritted teeth. "You're hurting me...!"

The boy didn't say anything, but continued to pull Mamori forcefully. She thought of maybe kicking the boy before her, but her instinct told her that it was not this boy's fault that he was treating her this way. Why is she being so stubborn?

Suddenly there was a small explosion between the two of them that forced the boy to let go. Mamori tried to see what happened, but realized that there was smoke everywhere. It burned her eyes and made it hard for her to breathe. Coughing and stumbling, she tried to escape the smoke. Then she felt a rough hand grab her other wrist and led her out of the smoke, where she could finally breathe easy despite her eyes still stinging. Yet she continued walking with whoever it was that was leading her far away from the explosion.

Soon the person led her to a bench where she could sit for a moment to catch her breath and rest. It was then that she knew who it was... "You really are fucking stupid."

"H-Hiruma?" said Mamori, still coughing a little. She blinked and could only see an outline of him.

"You knew you didn't want to go. Why the fuck did you force yourself?"

Mamori took a deep breath, finally feeling a little calm. "I just... didn't want to disappoint anyone," she replied. "Sena wanted me to go..."

"Why should you care what the Fucking Shorty wants? He may be short and a coward, but you don't always have to mother him. He'll be fine on his own."

"Well, he asked me to and I said I would go!"

There was a short silence. Then Hiruma continued. "But you just said that you didn't want to go."

Mamori could see a little more clearer now. In anger, she got up and looked at Hiruma. "How long have you been following me? And were you the one who threw that smoke bomb? You could've injured us both!"

"Stop fucking worrying! That wouldn't even be able to injure your toe! It was just a fucking smoke bomb because I noticed you refuse to save your fucking self even though that boy was clearly injuring you!"

"He wasn't injur—" but before Mamori could finish, Hiruma grabbed Mamori's right arm and showed her right wrist. There were obvious deep red grip marks on her. Mamori's eyes widened in horror. The adrenaline rush from the explosion numbed her from the pain, but as she stared at it, the pain began to settle in.

"He would've knocked you out and brought you to the dance if he had to," said Hiruma. "That guy's known for being pretty violent. And instead of defending yourself, you had to act as though you're some fucking princess in distress—"

"I couldn't hit him! I didn't think he was going to be that violent! I just..." Mamori looked away from Hiruma, trying to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I just couldn't hit him when the reason he was being violent was because I was feeling selfish."

Hiruma let go of her arm. "What's wrong with being selfish?" he asked.

"There's nothing really wrong..." said Mamori, who scolded herself as her voice was breaking from her desperate urge to cry. "I'm just not used to it."

Mamori began to take deep breaths as she settled back down on the bench, looking at her wrist and fighting the urge to cry. Hiruma stood by her for a moment, and then he saw another Deimon College Student pass by. "Well, we can't just fucking let things be like this. I have an idea," he said to her.

The Deimon College Student was Monta, and was surprised when he heard a female voice call out to him. "Excuse me!"

Monta turned and his insides almost exploded when he saw that it was Mamori running up to him. "I'm sorry to disturb you—"

"N-n-not at all! H-h-how can I help you?" stuttered Monta, almost shivering in excitement at the fact that the beautiful angel he had adored was standing before him.

"Are you heading to the Deimon Dance Room?" she asked.

"Y-y-yes!" he replied, hastily adding in his mind that he was actually going to see her.

"Great! Could you please tell Agon that I can't make it to the dance? You see..." Mamori showed her wrist to Monta. "His escort injured me and I'm too distraught to attend the dance anymore, and want to go back to rest."

"MUKYAAA!!" cried Monta in anger. "How dare he injure you, my poor sweet Mamori!!"

"You know my name?" asked Mamori in surprise.

Monta clamped his mouth. Did he just blurt out MY Mamori? "Y-yes, I'm a friend of... of... Sena!"

Mamori smiled. "That's great! You can tell Sena I can't make it as well. Tell him I'm really sorry and that I hope he's having a good time. What's your name by the way?"

"Raimon Tarou," he replied.

"Ah, Monta, is it?" she said. "It's so nice to meet you."

Monta was too enchanted by her smile to actually correct her on his name. In fact, if Mamori wants to call him Monta, then his name shall be Monta! "It's nice to meet you too..." he said dreamily.

"Oh, and thank you for your help. It really means a lot to me," said Mamori, finally taking a step back. "I have to go back now and rest. Have a good time at the dance. I'll see you around then!" With that, she finally ran off.

"Yeah... see you..." said Monta, and once she disappeared from his sight, Monta headed towards the ballroom, eager to help Mamori in her time of need.

Mamori reached to where Hiruma was, who was cackling in amusement. "I never knew you were such a good actress," he said.

"I wasn't acting," replied Mamori. "It was the truth. I really don't feel like going to the ball after what happened. And I just want to go back and rest. By the way, have you eaten yet?"

"I told you to stop fucking worrying about me," Hiruma retorted.

"Ah, so you haven't eaten yet," said Mamori. "Well, I don't really feel like cooking. So why don't I buy you something then? It'd be my treat as a thank you for helping me out. But I don't have much though, so why don't we buy those pre-packed bentous at the convenience store? You don't mind right?"

"Keh," was Hiruma's reply, as he looked straight ahead and refused to meet Mamori's gaze.

"I'll take that as a yes," she replied, grinning.

15 minutes later, outside of the Dance Room, Agon waited impatiently and was furious as the boy who escorted Mamori came back looking disheveled. "Where is she?!" he demanded.

"Someone attacked us," said the boy. "Threw a smoke bomb. She disappeared after that."

"She couldn't have been far! Did you look for her?"

"I did! She was nowhere to be found. I think she ran away, she said something about not wanting to go before that. She must've thrown that smoke bomb to stop me," said the boy, looking very angry.

"MUKYAA!! That's not true!!" cried Monta who had found Agon just in time.

"Huh? Who's this piece of trash?" said Agon.

"I just saw Mamori and she told me what really happened!" said Monta. "That boy!" he pointed, "He hurt Mamori max! I saw her wrist, they were very red and close to bleeding as though someone was dragging her!"

"Like I said, she didn't want to go! So I tried to persuade her!" cried the boy.

"MUKYA! By hurting her? She's so distraught by it that she went home to cry! It's all your fault she doesn't want to go to the ball!"

Agon was glaring at the boy now, who was shivering. "T-that's not true! That's not what happened! Y-yes, I did grab her and dragged her but she didn't want to come to the ball even though you asked, that's why! I was just obeying your orders!"

Agon stared at the boy, then casually said to Monta, "Monkey, you can go now."

"I'm not a monkey!!" cried Monta, but seeing how Agon was glaring at the boy, decided to not pursue this and ran back into the ballroom to look for Sena.

Agon carefully looked around and made sure there was no one else. He then looked at the boy. "You know, I did order you to bring her here no matter what. But I really don't agree with mistreating a lady, especially that particular girl. And for that..." Agon pulled out a blood red pendant from his pocket. "Well, I think you know what's going to happen..."

"No! No, Agon, please!" pleaded the boy. "I promise I won't do it again!"

"I think it's a little too late for that," said Agon, as he raised the pendant that was now glowing darkly.

Back inside the ballroom, Sena and Suzuna and the rest of the students who attended the ball were dancing. Suddenly, the doors burst open and someone shouted, "Look out!"

Everyone turned to look and gasped in horror as a huge gorilla came in, causing everyone to scream and run.

The gorilla terrorized those nearby to him, pulling at them and throwing them aside. Agon quickly ran in, holding the pendant tight in his left grip, he raised his right hand and the gorilla cried out in pain. Suzuna held on to Sena tightly, as they watched the gorilla squirm as though something was holding its neck, then passed out.

"Call security," said Agon to one of the nearby students. "Everyone, it seems that we have no choice but to end this party early. Please take your things and go home. Be careful."

The cheerleaders sighed in happiness. "He's so cool!" they chorused.

Sena looked at Suzuna. "Are you okay?"

Suzuna nodded. "I wonder how did that happen? Why is there a gorilla here?"

"It must be that demon," said a male student with glasses. "I heard him say that he hated these parties. He must have sent it here to ruin the dance!"

Sena was shocked as everyone soon agreed that it must be Hiruma who had done this. Agon was fascinated by this sudden accusation. "Fear not, fellow students. I'll get to the bottom of this! Until then, please leave and do not cause a commotion or you may hurt others."

"Sena..." whispered Suzuna, who noticed Sena was looking oddly angry. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and nodded to Suzuna, held her hand as they both walked out of the ballroom.


	7. Chapter 6

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Finally! Took me long enough I guess. I really wanted to post a week after I posted my last chapter. But time was pretty much against me. At least it's up! There's no musical in this chapter, but there will be in the next one. As usual, this chapter's mostly plot development.

Even though the response has been small in comparison, thank you to those who commented on ! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this despite it being pretty weird! Enjoy!

~*~

"But that can't be possible..." said Mamori, sounding incredulous. "How could you even think that, Mr. Principal!"

"Calm down, Miss Anezaki," said the Principal, holding his hand up to calm her down. "What I'm telling you now is just a theory of what a lot of students have been saying in relations to the event that happened yesterday. I just wanted to confirm if this was true or not."

"Of course it can't be true!" cried Mamori. "I was with him the entire night! There's no way he could have done such a thing! If there's anyone who should be suspicious, it should be me! How could it even be possible to drag Hiruma into this?"

The Principal sighed. The gorilla incident turned out to be bigger than he expected. Instead of the gorilla being just an animal that escaped from the zoo, friends and families of a missing student had confirmed that the gorilla was actually a Deimon College Student, magically transformed. None of the other Professors, Magicians or Doctors could find a way to cure the boy, and the boy had been unresponsive, showing no signs of understanding human language anymore.

Everyone seemed certain that it was Hiruma Youichi who had did it due to various unrelated incidents. That he was a demon who was known to curse people, that he knew the boy before and had always hated him, that he had wanted to ruin the party and decided to do this. And it bothered the Principal that Anezaki Mamori was willing to admit that she should be under suspicion, and not Hiruma.

"Mr. Principal, I don't deny that I was with the boy before I escaped from him," said Mamori.

"But records show you have no ability or power to conduct such heavy magic, Miss Anezaki," said the Principal. "Unless you had an accomplice and that accomplice is..."

"It's not him!" cried Mamori. "You can ask the cashier at the convenience store nearby, Hiruma was with me! And you can ask the security guard at the campus, he saw us walking by heading straight to the dorm!"

"Mr. Principal," said a voice from behind Mamori. She turned to find Agon in the Principal's room, looking incredibly worried. "I'm sorry for disrupting but I would also like to dispute the claims that this Hiruma, and especially Mamori, were involved in this great mystery. I was with that boy last, and he did seem off, as though something was wrong with him. I fear he may be suffering from some form of disease. The Doctors are trying to confirm that right now. I don't think it's right to pass judgment on them."

The Principal sighed. "Very well... I'll talk to his parents about this. Hopefully, you're right and that there's nothing to worry about."

Mamori got up and walked out with Agon beside her. "Thank you," she said to him. "I'm glad you don't believe those rumours."

"They are pretty absurd," said Agon. "But it's true that you and Hiruma live together?"

"Yes, because I seem to be the only one who can stand him," Mamori smiled a little. "He can still be such a pain though. But that doesn't mean he's all out to ruin other people."

"I see..." said Agon, looking at Mamori's smile. "You seem to care about him."

"Of course I do," Mamori replied. "I care about a lot of people, and never want to see them hurt or treated badly. Ah, Sena!" said Mamori as she saw Sena with Suzuna and Monta, both waving at her. "I'm sorry, Agon, I have to go for now. But thank you again for helping me."

"It's not a problem at all," said Agon as Mamori left to greet Sena, Suzuna and Monta. Agon then stared at Suzuna, noting her cheerleader outfit, and then looked at Monta. He thought pensively for a moment, then left.

"So they're not going to place any charges on Hiruma?" asked Sena.

"None, I'm so relieved," said Mamori.

"It really doesn't make any sense at all," said Suzuna. "They said it was a very strong enchantment and that no student could possibly have done this. How could they still blame him?"

"Because of his looks," said Sena. "They feel certain that Hiruma is truly the son of a Demon and that he has strange powers."

"Does he have strange powers?" asked Suzuna.

"W-well, I wouldn't call them strange, but..." Sena hesitated.

"I'm glad you're all right though, Mamori," said Monta, looking at her.

"Thank you for all your help, Monta, I really do appreciate it," said Mamori, smiling kindly. "I think it's time to head off for class though."

They wished each other goodbye and with the exception of Sena and Monta who had a class together, they each went their separate ways. Suzuna was about to reach her class when she noticed two girls from the cheerleading team stood by the doorway. "Ah, she's here..." one of them said.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Suzuna. But the girls merely grabbed her arm and dragged her to another room down the hall. "HEY! Let go of me! What's going on?"

Then she realized that she was in a room where all the cheerleaders were, and Agon was smack in the middle of them, a couple of the girls fawning over him. "Taki Suzuna, am I right?" he said.

"J-just Suzuna will do," she said, suddenly feeling really worried.

"Right, whatever... I heard you just got yourself a boyfriend?" he grinned as the other cheerleaders laughed.

"He's just a boy who helps pick up the balls," said one of the girls. "They don't let him play because he'd cheat if he does."

"That's not true!" cried Suzuna. "It's cause Sena's too powerful! And he won't abuse that power!"

The girls laughed. Agon continued grinning. "What an interesting perspective... Now, if my sources are right, this... Sena... is friends with Hiruma, am I right? And he's also friends with Mamori?"

Suzuna gulped. "Y-yes. What about it?"

Agon leaned forward. "Let's just say that I will be calling you sometime soon to help me, especially involving Mamori. You're going to be closer to her, and be a good friend. I will call you when the time comes."

"W-why me? Why not anyone here?"

"Because you already have strong ties by being with that small trash," said Agon. "What's this? I sense hesitance? That's not good. Let me tell you what happens if you don't do as I say. For one thing, you will definitely be kicked out of this club and never be allowed to cheer or dance again no matter where you go. The other..." his eyes gleamed in menace as he glared at Suzuna. "I will hurt that little boyfriend of yours till he'd be completely unrecognizable."

Suzuna's eyes widened in horror. "You... wouldn't..."

"I would," said Agon. "There's a reason why I'm very popular. And that's cause everyone knows not to mess with me. Now you will help me find out about Mamori, or you know what will happen." Agon got up and with the rest of the cheerleaders, left the room.

Suzuna fell on her knees, her arms holding her up. Tears dropped unto the ground as she tried to stop herself from shivering. "Sena..." she whispered, as tears continued to spill down.

Classes had finally ended, and Mamori rushed back to her dorm to look for Hiruma. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found him in the hall, reading a sports magazine. "What's with that fucking look?" he asked.

"I'm just glad that you're okay," she replied.

"Of course I'll be okay," he said. "The most that they'd do is lock me up."

"Don't say that!" cried Mamori. "That's not okay! I can't believe they're accusing you of such things..."

Hiruma shrugged, which made Mamori realise something. "This isn't the first time they've accused you of something bad, is it?"

"With a face like this, do you really think they'd leave me the fuck alone?" he said, looking at Mamori now. She looked at his features and couldn't get at all why people still think that Hiruma is capable of such evil.

"Hiruma, could you please accompany me today? I need to do a bit of shopping."

"Why the fuck should I follow you?"

"Please..."

Hiruma looked at her again and sighed. "Keh. Whatever." He got up and proceeded to walk out of the dorm.

They were both quiet for a moment as they walked towards the grocery store. Then Mamori spoke up, "You know, I'm actually terrible at magic."

Hiruma raised his eyebrows, surprised by the sudden topic. "So what are you doing in this college?"

"To change," said Mamori. "Remember how I said I'm not used to being selfish? All my life I spent most of the time dedicating myself to others, for so-called justice to prevail and to keep others from harm. And then one day, when nothing bad happened and everything was going perfectly, I stopped and realize that for some reason, despite knowing I was doing everything right, I felt oddly empty. A few weeks later, I found out I did have a bit of magic."

"What kind of magic?" Hiruma asked, who then cursed at himself for sounding way too curious.

"I'll give you a clue, my name," said Mamori.

Hiruma thought for a moment. "Protection... You can create a force field?"

Mamori laughed a little. "You really are smart! You're right, I have the power to protect. I can create force fields, but sadly, not when I want to. It normally happens when it becomes entirely necessary, especially protecting someone. But it was still enough to convince me to come to this college and learn more about magic, and most importantly learn more about myself... and change."

Hiruma grinned. "You want to be more selfish?"

"No! Well..." Mamori grinned. "Yes, maybe a little. I want to think about myself a bit more."

"Well, you're heading nowhere by you continuously worrying about me," said Hiruma.

"Ah, but worrying is a part of my nature, and I think I have every right to be selfish on that one," she winked at him.

Hiruma cackled. "If you worry too much, your face will wrinkle."

"There are beauty products for that."

"I didn't know you'd be a slave for such things."

"It's not being a slave to them if it's just the basic care and necessities to help you look good."

"Looking good is not a necessity, just take a fucking look at me," he grinned. "I'd like to see someone try to recommend me some beauty products."

Mamori laughed, and it was the first time he had seen her let herself go that much. He smiled a different smile than usual, and he knew it was different cause he wasn't used to such a smile. It was foreign to him. He let it fade into a grin once Mamori caught her breath and rubbed the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hiruma..." she said, her voice still shaky from laughing. "It was just that the image of someone recommending you a moisturizer was too priceless."

They reached the grocery story and barely spent 10 minutes in there before walking out. This time, Hiruma spoke up. "Don't you want to know why I'm in this college?"

"Eh?" went Mamori, surprised. "Isn't it because you have magic and want to develop it more?"

"It's the exact opposite," he said, looking oddly serious. "I'm trying to look for a fucking way to get rid of it."

Mamori looked at him, unable to hide the surprise on her face. "Is it because it's causing too much trouble?"

"What do you think? Of course it fucking is," said Hiruma, looking slightly annoyed. "I used to be in the football team in high school. That's how I met the Fucking Fatty, Fucking Old Man and Fucking Shorty."

"Ah, so that's how you guys met!" said Mamori. "I should have known! But why did you..." Mamori stopped. "Don't tell me they stopped you from playing!"

"Of course they did," said Hiruma. "Even though the game is known to be violent, the moment someone's bones got broken, or is knocked unconscious, all blame went to me. It got bad when they even started blaming the players in my team. So I pulled out."

Mamori shook her head. "That's crazy! But then again, they even stopped Sena from playing since they found out his ability to run fast is magical."

"That's bullshit," said Hiruma. "He was fast even before that. He worked really hard to get really fast... and then that fucking bullshit happened, about how players with magic that can affect the game can't play. Him... The Fucking Fatty and Fucking Old Man..."

There was a look of sadness that Mamori never saw before. She looked down for a moment then said, "I'll help you."

"What?"

"I'll help you! And Sena, Kurita and Musashi as well! It's not fair to have your dreams crushed because of something so stupid! I can help you find a way to get rid of your powers, or maybe we can work up on finding a way to create rules for a new type of football game that allows people with magic to play, of course with limits. It's just not fair to have people like you stop playing! Especially since you did nothing wrong," said Mamori.

"Keh, I thought you were going to be more selfish," said Hiruma. "Why the fuck do you want to help me?"

"I can still be selfish while helping others! I just won't listen to you so much, that's all," said Mamori smugly.

Hiruma cackled. "Interesting... I'll take that offer then and see what you can do, and see for myself whether or not you can still be selfish while helping me."

"It's a deal then!" said Mamori, grinning.


	8. Chapter 7

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Wow, looks like I might be able to keep doing this weekly. Let's see how long that lasts though. Hehe! Hiruma's kind of OOC here especially at the end. He will be that way for a bit so I can only ask for patience. Just a bit more development, and the story will go on overdrive. Those will be the hardest (and yet most fun) to write for sure.

Song used here is "I'm not that girl" from Wicked. You definitely don't need to know the song for this, as it doesn't play a vital role, but it's really quite fun imagery. It's a good song though, highly recommended. Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

~*~

Hiruma and Mamori headed to class together today, as they were both attending the same class which was on mythical creatures, a basic requirement. As they were about to reach the class, Mamori stopped as she spotted someone familiar. "I think I know that boy..." she said. She turned to Hiruma and said, "Head in to class first. If it's who I think he is, he might be useful."

"Useful for what?" Hiruma asked, but Mamori had already ran off, saying, "You'll see!"

She approached the boy who was wearing a white lab coat and smiled in recognition. "I knew it was you, Yukimitsu."

"Eh?" the boy turned to look at Mamori and smiled at her. "Anezaki Mamori! What a surprise! I didn't expect you here!"

"Neither did I expect you!" she said. "I thought you were in some high class, prestigious college to study Magical Science?"

"I am, actually," replied Yukimitsu. "I'm here today for a few reasons. One is to see that boy who was transformed into a gorilla. A few of us were selected to examine him with our Professor, who's as curious about this case as everyone else."

"Ah, yes..." Mamori looked down for a while. "I hope they figure out a cure for him."

"We will in due time," said Yukimitsu.

"So what else are you here for?" asked Mamori.

"Oh, we're about to show a class this special creature that we found," said Yukimitsu excitedly. "It may look like a normal animal but through our research and scanning, we discovered there's more to it than what it seems. Wait, if you're here, could you be taking the mythical creatures lesson right now?"

"Why, yes, I am," said Mamori.

"Perfect! Head on to class right now and we'll unveil it to you! Just look out for it!"

"That's great," said Mamori. "But I do hope we can talk again soon. There's something I want to discuss with you about."

"Sure thing! We can talk during lunch if you want?"

"That's perfect! I'll talk to you then!" Mamori walked back to class in high spirits. She sat next to Hiruma who was bothered by her perky smile.

"What the fuck is up with you?" he asked. "And who was it that you were talking to?"

"An old classmate from High School," replied Mamori. "He's incredibly smart and is currently studying in one of those prestigious colleges. That college would definitely have enough information for what you're looking for. So I thought it'd be good to reestablish my connection with him."

Hiruma grinned. "Well, look who's abusing her connections now."

"I am not abusing connections! He's a good friend, we worked together on a science project before. We were two of the smartest back then. I'm sure it'd be great to work with him again. Of course, I'll be careful not to disclose too much information, if you know what I mean..."

Hiruma let out a low cackle, carefully eyeing the other students around him, who were obviously disturbed by how Mamori could even be able to talk to him normally. Then a man entered at the front of the class, who came in with Doburoku. They were both carrying a covered medium sized cage that was letting out a low growl.

"All right class, settle down!" said Doburoku, though the class was barely making any noise as they were all curious at the sight of the growling cage. "Today we have a special guest from Amino College who has brought with him what he believes..." For a moment, everyone could see that Doburoku doubted it. "... Is a mythical creature. I'll leave the explanations to you then, Munakata."

"Thank you very much, Professor Doburoku," said Munakata, who also looked at Doburoku doubtfully. "Class, I am here to present to you a rare sight unlike anything you have ever seen. You may think it's just like any other animal but do not be fooled... There is more to it than meets the eye." He then held the cloth that covered the cage. "I present to you... a creature from the underworld..." and then he lifted the covers...

To show a small but gruff looking brown dog, who was growling menacingly at Munakata. Some of the students gasped while others exclaimed, "It's just a dog!"

Hiruma looked at the dog and his eyes widened. Something inside him was telling him something was wrong with that dog.

"As I had said earlier, do not be fooled," repeated Munkata. "I will show you why this is no ordinary dog. Everyone at the front, I suggest you keep back a little just in case." He then pulled out a remote control and pressed a button.

Sparks of electricity flew from the cage and the dog kept barking until it fell and suddenly its muscles were growing bigger, and its teeth were getting longer and sharper... Hiruma felt sick watching, these things shouldn't bother him but for some reason what they were doing was completely wrong.

The dog began to whine now as it continued to grow, its eyes more menacing and its growl louder. It almost filled the whole cage now until suddenly Mamori stood up and screamed, "STOP THAT!! JUST STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!"

Hiruma was surprised to see that Munakata instantly stopped and the dog slumped to the bottom of the cage motionless. Everyone turned to look at her. "Miss Anezaki," said Doburoku. "Are you okay?"

"Can't you see you're hurting that creature?!" cried Mamori. "What you're doing isn't right! You're agitating him and had possibly tortured him previously—" but Mamori was cut off as Hiruma grabbed her wrist and stared at her, as though telling her to stop.

"Miss Anezaki, I presume?" said Munakata. "I'm sorry if it seems as though I'm torturing this creature but let me assure you that this thing feels nothing. What I'm doing is speeding up the process to reach a... what we call it... demonic state."

Hiruma's eyes narrowed at this. He knew they were going to use those words and he knew that instantly a few eyes glanced at him before turning back towards the front. Mamori sat down as she nodded and apologized for her sudden demeanour.

Straight after class, Mamori had a hard time chasing away the other students who questioned her for her actions. But the moment that she did, she ran behind one of the staircases that was usually abandoned at the time to find Hiruma waiting for him.

"Why did you stop me just now?" she asked.

"I need you to stop attracting attention to yourself," said Hiruma. "It'd be dangerous."

"Why would it be?" she asked. "Hiruma, you're planning something aren't you?" Mamori knew from how he refused to answer that she was right. "You're going to free that dog, am I right?"

Hiruma looked at her and cursed at how Mamori can be too smart for her own good. "Something didn't feel right... I can't leave that dog in there. I've got to set it free."

"Then I'm following you," said Mamori.

"After that stunt you pulled there, they'd suspect you for sure. There's no way you're getting involved."

"But I can help you!" Mamori whispered urgently, after hearing some students pass by. "I think I know of a way, just listen to me for a few minutes. This might work."

The two then spent 10 minutes discussing the various possibilities and strategies, until finally Hiruma cackled at their best option. "You could get in trouble for this," he said.

"Well it's the best option we got and you know it," said Mamori. "Though I am starting to think you may really be a bad influence to me."

"Well, you wanted a change, right?" said Hiruma. "I think this is a good opportunity to show just that."

They left the staircase at different times to cause less suspicion and to keep each other's distance for a moment. Then Mamori went to visit Yukimitsu who was busy discussing with Munakata in one of the laboratories. The cage where the creature is in was close by. "Oh, I'm sorry for disturbing..." said Mamori. "Mr. Munakata, I apologize for my reaction in today's class. I just wasn't used to the sight of that animal being treated that way."

"It's all right, Miss Anezaki," said Munakata, nodding understandably. "It's hard to understand the ways of science at times, especially in terms of magical science."

Mamori nodded. "You're right. I don't seem to understand. Mind if I see the creature again? And could you explain to me how you managed to capture this... evil-looking dog and how you keep it within this... what looks like... a normal cage?"

"It would be my pleasure, Miss Anezaki!" said Munakata, who was pleased with her interest. "This cage is specially built by me using a special type of metal known to be able to withstand magical powers. See these bite marks here? Even though this creature has sharp teeth, this metal is still capable of withstanding even the sharpest knives or even pressure, so even explosions can't break it."

"Wow, that is simply amazing..." said Mamori. "So there's absolutely no way of opening this except..."

"Through this remote that I have with me at all times," said Munakata, patting the remote in his shirt pocket. He then proceeded to explain how he captured the creature by using a special net but Mamori was uninterested by then. She studied the cage as carefully as she could. And when the explanation was done, she turned to Yukimitsu, "So I'll see you at lunch soon?"

"Oh, sure!" said Yukimitsu. "Just let me clean up this place a bit and I'll be right with you!"

"Will you be going for lunch too?" she asked Munakata.

"Of course! The teachers here invited me! They've all been fascinated with my current research on mythical creatures, although Doburoku has been unimpressed..." he muttered the last few words quietly but Mamori heard them anyways.

"I'll see you at the cafeteria then," said Mamori to Yukimitsu who nodded and waved her off. Mamori then walked quickly towards the back of the staircase, carefully making sure no one was following her, where Hiruma waited with a laptop at hand.

"So you really DO have one!" she exclaimed quietly.

"Of course I fucking have one, everyone has one to do their work," he said.

"Well, I've never seen you with it so I wondered," said Mamori quickly. "Anyways, here's what I found out." She then explained what the cage was made of as well as the mechanism of how the cage works. "You're right. There is a keypad to unlock the cage in case the remote doesn't work. You can't break it cause then it will never open, or you might even cause the electric current to stream through the cage and injure the dog some more. Best bet is hacking it through that laptop. You said you were good at that right? How did you learn that?"

Hiruma grinned. "No time for questions like that. You better hurry off and have that lunch with Fucking Baldy."

"You never even met him and you already have a mean nickname for him!" cried Mamori. Then she shook her head and sighed. "I'll see you soon."

"I told you it's not a good idea to see me after that."

"I'm going to be selfish on this and say I don't care, I'm seeing you... safe and hopefully with that dog," she said, looking at him meaningfully and then walking off.

He watched Mamori as she walked away, and after a few minutes after she disappeared, he walked to the laboratory where the dog was. Kurita and Musashi were already there, waiting for him. "They left?" he asked.

"Just a few minutes ago," said Musashi. "You're taking a big risk doing this. What's so special about that dog?"

"Dunno..." Hiruma shrugged. "Don't fucking care. All I know is that I got to set him free. I need you to stay around the corridor for a bit and be on the look out. Fucking Fatty, follow me inside."

Kurita and Musashi nodded. Hiruma went in and was glad to see that the dog was still unconscious. He then found the device to plug his laptop to the locking mechanism of the cage, and quickly went to work. It's been a while since he's had to crack something this big before. But he grinned the moment he found a way to override the code used in the original remote control. It took him a little longer than he expected but he succeeded. The door was finally open.

"Fucking Fatty, you have that big bag of yours for food right? You've already eaten?" asked Hiruma.

"Yes, it was really good! If you wanted, I could share—"

"Stop fucking talking and open that bag, I'm putting the dog in there while he's still unconscious," he said. Kurita nodded and opened his bag. Hiruma carried the dog who was quite heavy and put it in the bag. They then walked out where Musashi was and they then headed towards the exit, careful to choose the lanes where no one would walk through, especially since it's lunch hour.

On the way, Hiruma heard Mamori talking to someone, and he found himself stopping to see who it was. He was surprised to see that it was Agon talking to her. And then Mamori spotted him and she couldn't hide the look of surprise on her face. "What are you looking at?" he heard Agon say and Hiruma knew he could not run in time to hide.

Mamori quickly grabbed Agon's arm and said, "I'm sorry! I was just surprised at what you said to me just now! I mean, really... are you sure?"

"Hiruma!" whispered Kurita. "Let's go! That dog might be waking up soon!"

Hiruma tore his eyes away from the sight of Agon and Mamori together and quickly ran out of the building to the back of the college. They then found one of the brick walls that had a hole at the bottom, which was big enough for the dog to go through.

Kurita panicked when the bag began to move. "HIRUMA!"

"Just open the fucking bag and stop freaking out!"

Kurita unzipped the bag and the dog jumped right out with a bark, pouncing on Kurita. It glared evilly at him for a moment, then saw Hiruma who was staring at the dog. The dog then jumped off Kurita and walked towards Hiruma. "Keh, you really are an annoying looking mutt." Hiruma bent down and held his hand out. The dog sniffed it for a moment and then sat before him. "You can go out through there," he pointed at the hole in the wall. "Now get going before you get caught again. I'm sure you're a lot smarter than you look."

The dog growled at him in anger for a moment. Then proceeded to escape. Kurita and Musashi watched in astonishment. "Are you sure you don't know that dog?" Musashi asked again.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," said Hiruma, completely ignoring Kurita and Musashi's dumbfounded look. They then heard Mamori call out to them.

"Kurita! Musashi! Hiruma!" she ran up to them, breathless. "Thank goodness, I caught you guys in time. Wasn't I right? I told you the hole here was big enough for the dog to escape. But I'm so glad you guys are all right. You were so close to being caught by Agon back there!"

"You did a great job distracting as well, Mamori," said Kurita. "Seriously couldn't have done that without your help."

"It's fine," she stood closer to Hiruma. "The dog did manage to escape, right?"

"Yeah, looks like the fucking mutt owes us one," he grinned at her.

Mamori smiled at him and touched his shoulder for a moment. "You did pretty well yourself." Hiruma felt the heat from her hand spread across his shoulder.

"Mamori!" they heard someone call.

"Agon?" cried Mamori in surprise. She instantly dropped her hand from Hiruma's shoulder and went to greet Agon. "What're you doing here? I thought we already confirmed everything?"

"Why, I just wanted to accompany you to your next class of course," said Agon, giving her his best smile. "And I wanted to talk to you some more about our date."

Mamori blushed. "I told you it's not a date! I'm just accompanying you, that's all!"

"Deny it all you want, sweetie," said Agon as he wrapped one arm around her shoulder. "But a date's a date. Now let's go before you're late for class." He then walked forward causing Mamori to be dragged along as well. She looked behind and shrugged at Hiruma, Kurita and Musashi, who were quite surprised.

"I guess she had to go on a date with him so that he wouldn't be too suspicious of us," said Kurita.

"That's pretty surprising though," said Musashi. "Mamori doesn't seem like the type of girls Agon would normally go after. Right, Hiruma?"

"Keh," Hiruma grabbed his laptop and bag. "He can date whoever the fuck he wants. I don't give a fuck."

Musashi raised his eyebrows. "Aren't you bothered that it's Mamori? He could be using her, you know? And he's quite a known womanizer and you know it."

"She's better off with him than..." he didn't finish his sentence and just walked off. Musashi and Kurita looked at each other, surprised at the events that just unfolded and as they pieced things together, figured out that there might be more to Hiruma's thoughts after all.

Hiruma decided to head back to his dorm. The moment he reached his room, he collapsed on the bed and sighed. He cursed himself for what he was feeling right at that moment, as thoughts of Mamori rushed in his head. How kind she was to him, how well they worked together today... and how stupid he was to think she should be by his side.

He let out a sigh.

**[Hiruma]**  
_Hands touch, eyes meet  
Sudden silence, sudden heat  
Hearts leap in a giddy whirl  
She could be that girl  
But I'm not that boy_

_Don't dream too far  
Don't lose sight of who you are  
Don't remember that rush of joy  
She could be that girl  
I'm not that boy_

_Every so often we long to steal  
To the land of what-might-have-been  
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel  
When reality sets back in_

_She's seen better  
He who's winsome, he wins her  
Dark hair with a handsome turn  
That's the boy she chose  
And Heaven knows  
I'm not that boy_

_Don't wish, don't start  
Wishing only wounds the heart  
I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl  
There's a girl I know  
He loves her so  
I'm not that boy..._


	9. Chapter 8

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** I seemed to have made that grave mistake of getting my best friend to read The Wicked despite her not being that huge a HiruMamo fan. Though I am glad that she loves this story, she now can't stop bugging me to finish the next chapter... because she's bored. XD So err... chapters will be up faster than usual thanks to her. Yes, I blame her for everything. 8D

But I still love you, sweetie, for going through this chapter and being my beta. *huggles*

Get ready for a pretty long chapter as well as a tinge of OOC-ness. Song used is "Popular" from Wicked. Very cute song. XD I love singing along to it. Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

~*~

As Mamori had expected, the college was abuzz with rumours about the escaped dog. Munakata was furious when he found the cage obviously broken into, and blamed the staff of Deimon for their lack of security. But it went right down to the fact that no one in their right mind would break open a cage that housed an obviously evil creature. And so they decided that the dog must have gained enough power to somehow… override the codes of the cage.

Despite this conclusion, nobody in the college was convinced it was true. To Mamori's surprise, everyone was sure that a certain someone was surely behind the dog's escape...

"I'm sure that Hiruma was behind this," said Sara. "Ako and I saw the dog as we passed by the classroom that day. We couldn't help but think that the dog looked just like Hiruma!"

"Well…" said Ako hesitantly. "I wouldn't say the dog looked exactly like Hiruma, but there was that evil aura around that creature, wasn't it? And it's so similar to Hiruma's."

Mamori stared at the two, with her mouth ajar. "You have got to be joking..." she said. "Are you two even listening to yourselves? How can you even say such things?"

The three of them were walking side by side, but Sara and Ako stopped when they heard Mamori's reply. "Mamori, don't you think it's strange?" said Ako. "First, that boy turning into a gorilla and now, this dog escaping?"

"I don't see how they're linked," said Mamori, who stopped to look at the two.

"Okay, maybe they're not totally linked," said Ako. "But they're strange events... and it's odd that you're not up and about searching for clues. I mean, this dog could be around here somewhere and it could actually hurt someone!"

Mamori had to cover her mouth from giggling. It was true that the dog really was around here. In fact, the dog was staying near her dorm. But despite looking mean, the dog was harmless, and preferred terrorizing the animals nearby instead. He often came up to Mamori and Hiruma for food. She often obliged while he would say the Fucking Mutt was too damned ungrateful. They even had an argument about what to name the dog as Hiruma seemed keen to just keep calling him Fucking Mutt. In the end they concluded that Cerberus would be perfect. Hiruma thought it suited his mean exterior, while Mamori believed that Cerberus would be great at protecting them from danger... if he didn't bite off anyone's head, Hiruma joked.

Ako noticed Mamori suppressing a smile. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Mamori quickly said and did her best to look serious for her friends' sakes. "I just couldn't help but think it quite impossible. There's been no news after all."

Sara frowned. "This isn't the Mamori I remember."

"Eh?" said Mamori, surprised by what Sara had just said.

Ako nodded. "Sara's right. Whenever something weird happens, you would be the first to investigate. But now you just don't seem to care."

Mamori was taken aback by this. It wasn't that she didn't care... there was just no need to care. She felt bad at first, but realized that the reason why she didn't really care in the first place was that most of the claims were totally uncalled for... and linked to Hiruma. "I just think a lot of these accusations are completely baseless. And besides the boy, that everyone is doing their best to cure, no one has been completely hurt. And don't you remember? I said I was going to change, right?"

"We know," said Sara. "But we weren't expecting this..."

Mamori smiled sadly. Well, what was she expecting from people who were so used to the old her? She then felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, and found out it was Suzuna calling her. "Yes, Suzuna?"

"Ah, Mamo-nee!"

Mamori sweat-dropped a little. "You don't have to call me that... I'm not your big sister."

"But you act pretty much like a big sister so I'm calling you just that!" Mamori heard Suzuna giggle a little. "Anyways, Mamo-nee, I was wondering if you could come over to my place for a while today? There's something I'd really want to talk to you about..." Mamori noticed how Suzuna's voice wavered a little at the end.

"Are you all right, Suzuna? Did someone hurt you?" asked Mamori with concern.

"Eh? Oh no! I'm fine! I'm totally fine!" said Suzuna chirpily. "But I really do want to talk to you... about Sena! Yeah! I'm going on a date with him soon and I'd really like your opinion on something."

"Sure! I'll be there once I leave my books back at my place. I'll see you then." Mamori hung up and smiled at Sara and Ako. "Well, looks like I'm needed by a friend today. I'll see you both tomorrow then."

Sara and Ako nodded. "Do take care of yourself, Mamori," said Ako.

The concern in Ako's voice somewhat scared Mamori for a while. But she smiled and said, "I know I've changed Ako, but I can still look out for myself." And with that, she left the college grounds.

Hiruma was in the dorm, typing away on his laptop as he tried to ignore the noise outside of the dorm. Some of the students seem to be having a huge party, and reading wasn't helping him at the moment. But as he typed out all the little data he had learnt and began organizing them, he easily blocked out the noise by concentrating. It has been a while since he had used a computer... but it was good to know he was still good with them.

He heard the door open and noticed Mamori rushing in. "I'll be gone for a few hours," said Mamori as she rushed into her room. She left the door open and continued to speak. "Suzuna called me and she said she needed some advice. Just thought I'd let you know. We still have some leftovers in the fridge so you should be all right for dinner..."

"Stop squabbling and just get the fuck out already," said Hiruma grumpily as he seemed to have lost his concentration. "You don't have to fucking worry about me all the time."

Mamori walked out, wearing form fitting t-shirt and jeans, and her hair loose and wavy. Hiruma saw this and for a moment couldn't help but think that despite looking plain, she was oddly pretty. "I told you, I'm always going to worry about you and everyone I care about." She then walked out of the door. "Do take care of yourself!"

Hiruma grunted his reply, trying to shake off his thoughts on Mamori. Why was he falling for her? Hadn't he told himself already that there was no way they could ever be together? Though he must admit... ever since she came along, there were less 'accidents' than he remembered. He was surprised that it's been over a month now and there hasn't been one moment where he had caused trouble. Could it be thanks to her?

Hiruma looked at Mamori's room and then realized something. Wait, did she just change with her room door left open?

Suzuna had texted her address to Mamori, and it was quite nearby. She was in the building where the cheerleaders were. As she entered the building, she saw a couple of the cheerleaders in a group talking to each other secretively. The moment Mamori came in, they stopped and offered her little smiles, then walked away. Mamori found that odd and was about to greet them when Suzuna came running towards her.

"Mamo-nee!" cried Suzuna as she hugged Mamori. "I'm so glad you could make it!

"I'm glad to be able to help you, Suzuna," said Mamori. Suzuna then held Mamori's hand and led her to her room. Mamori noted that the cheerleaders' dorm was a lot less friendly than she had expected. There were a lot of notice boards, scheduling future practice times. And there were pictures of famous sports players, most of them better known for their good looks rather than talents.

But Suzuna's room was, thankfully, a lot warmer and friendlier. There were a lot of cute cheerleader figurines, and there were also pictures of Suzuna in cheerleading action. And to her surprise, there was one of Sena looking quite young. She picked up the picture and smiled. It was Sena as he was playing football. And somewhere in the back, she could see the familiar form of Hiruma who seemed to be threatening their opponent. "You've known them all since then?" asked Mamori.

"Not really known them..." said Suzuna, looking sheepish. "Just watched them from afar. I was a cheerleader for the opposing team. That was when I first noticed them... and especially Sena." Suzuna sat on her bed and invited Mamori to sit with her. "I was always the smallest among the cheerleaders and often found myself pretty discouraged by it. But when I saw Sena play, and he was as small as me... He just inspired me to keep trying."

Mamori smiled. "I think Sena feels the same way about you..." She watched as a gentle smile bloomed and a faraway look took form on Suzuna's face. "Now, what was it you wanted help about?"

Suzuna blinked and then jumped in surprise. "Oh! Yes, yes, well... I was thinking if you could help me plan an outfit for my date with Sena!"

"An... outfit?" Mamori laughed nervously. "I'm not sure if I'm good at giving such advice..." but Suzuna completely ignored her and was already going through her wardrobe.

"Erm... Mamo-nee? Could you look in my dressing drawer for a pink t-shirt I bought recently?" said Suzuna as she continued to look through her wardrobe.

Mamori nodded and proceeded to look through Suzuna's dressing drawer when she suddenly felt something sharp. "Ow!" Mamori cried out in surprise as she pulled back her hand and noticed she pricked one of her fingers.

Suzuna quickly ran up to Mamori. "Are you okay? Oh no, you're bleeding!" Suzuna proceeded to dig under her bed and pulled out a first aid kit. "I have a bandage right here. I'm so sorry, Mamo-nee! I must have left a sewing needle in there..."

"It's not a problem at all," said Mamori, as she sucked the blood out of her finger for a while, and then proceeded to use a disinfectant she saw in the first aid kit, and then used the bandage Suzuna was holding.

"You're good at that," Suzuna noted.

"Well, I did get hurt a lot when I used to chase delinquents back in high school," said Mamori. "This is nothing. You shouldn't look so worried, Suzuna, I'll be fine."

Suzuna blinked. "O-oh, yes, of course... I just feel bad, that's all..." Suzuna smiled weakly as she looked back into her wardrobe. "A-anyways yes, we still need to pick out an outfit for my date!"

"About that..." said Mamori hesitantly. "To be honest, I really don't think I can be much help."

"Why?" asked Suzuna, looking surprised.

"Well..." Mamori shrugged. "I just never really did care about fashion much." She pointed at her own outfit. "I always aim to feel comfortable in case I need to chase someone from causing more trouble. I've never been on a date either..."

"But you're going on a date with Agon right?"

Mamori blinked in surprise. "Eh? How did you know that?"

"All the cheerleaders are talking about it," Suzuna grinned. "They're so jealous of you, Mamo-nee! Agon's ignoring most of them because he wants to be with you."

"That's what I don't get," said Mamori. "I don't see why he's interested in me when he has all these cheerleaders who're dying to be with him. I'm not pretty and I'm not even popular."

"Well, I can teach you a thing or two about being popular," Suzuna was grinning even more now.

"You can?"

"Sure!" cried Suzuna as she went to her dresser drawer and pulled out some accessories and a makeup box. "After all, I AM a cheerleader and have had my fair share of popularity myself... back in high school..." she shrugged a little. Then smiled at Mamori.

**[Suzuna]** (smiling)  
_Whenever I see someone who's prettier than I,  
And let's face it, who isn't more prettier than I?  
My little heart seems to feel so pleased  
But when someone needs a makeover,  
I simply have to take over,  
I know I know exactly what they need  
And even in your case..._

Suzuna made Mamori sit on her bed and went straight behind her, combing Mamori's hair.

**[Suzuna]**  
_Though you're the first case that I've yet to face,  
Don't worry, I'm determined to succeed!  
Follow my lead,  
And yes indeed, you will be..._ (shows Mamori the mirror)

_Popular! You're gonna be popular!  
I'll teach you the proper ploys,  
When you talk to boys,  
Little ways to flirt and flounce, ooh!  
I'll show you what shoes to wear!  
How to fix your hair!  
Everything that really counts to be..._

_Popular! I'll help you be popular!  
You'll hang with the right cohorts,  
You'll be good at sports,  
Know the slang you've got to know.  
So let's start,  
'Cause we've got a pretty long way to go!_

Suzuna proceeded to tie Mamori's hair in a high ponytail.

**[Suzuna]**  
_Don't be offended by my frank analysis,  
Think of it as personality dialysis,  
Now that we've chosen to become good pals, a sister and advisor,  
There's nobody wiser!  
Not when it comes to..._

Suzuna then faced Mamori and proceeded to apply powder on Mamori's face. Mamori coughed when she accidentally breathed it in.

**[Suzuna]**  
_Popular! I know about popular  
And with an assist from me  
To be who you'll be  
Instead of simply who you were! Err.. are!  
There's nothing that can stop you,  
From becoming populer… lar!_

"Err, Suzuna..." said Mamori but Suzuna, caught up by the excitement of dress up, proceeded to now apply lipstick on Mamori.

**[Suzuna]**  
_La la, la la!  
We're gonna make you pop-u-lar!_

_When we see depressing creatures,  
With unprepossessing features,  
We remind them on their own behalf  
To think of  
Celebrated heads of state,  
Or specially great communicators!  
Did they have brains or knowledge?  
Don't make me laugh!_

_They were popular!  
Please! It's all about popular.  
It's not about aptitude,  
It's the way you're viewed,  
So it's very shrewd to be,  
Very very popular like me!_

"Suzuna," said Mamori, her eyes closed as Suzuna seemed to be applying mascara now. "I really don't think this is necessary!"

"Aaaaand done!" cried Suzuna, sounding very pleased with herself. She took a step back to look at Mamori, and sighed. "Mamo-nee! Look at you! You're beautiful!"

Mamori looked into the mirror and almost gasped. Suzuna didn't apply a heavy amount of makeup, but for some reason her looks were much better accentuated. And Suzuna had tied her hair with a long black ribbon that flowed down to her back. She had never tied her hair in such a style, and definitely couldn't help but think that she looked... different...

"Erm... thanks, Suzuna..." Mamori glanced at the clock on Suzuna's bedside table and quickly got up. "Oh, it's late. I have to go... Hiruma might be waiting for me. I'll see you tomorrow..." Mamori quickly opened the door, then stopped for a while to smile at Suzuna. "Thank you..." Then she left.

Suzuna blinked confusingly. "You're welcome?" Then she grinned.

**[Suzuna]**  
_And though you protest  
Your disinterest,  
Y'know clandestinely,  
You're gonna' grin and bear it!  
Your new found popularity!  
Ah!_ (dancing across her room)

_La la, la la!  
You'll be popular!  
Just not quite as popular as me!_

There was a sudden hard knock on the door. "Suzuna! Are you in there?" cried a girl's voice.

Suzuna jumped and panicked. She quickly ran to open the door. "Erm... hi..."

"Did you get it?" demanded one of the cheerleaders.

Suzuna nodded and slowly walked up to her dressing drawer, where Mamori had searched in and pulled out a needle.

"Careful! We don't want to ruin that!" the cheerleader cried.

Suzuna nodded again and pulled out a small casing from her pocket, and carefully placed the needle in it. She then passed it to the cheerleader who snatched it away from Suzuna. "Good. At least you can do that right."

As the cheerleader left, Suzuna closed her room door and began to cry softly.

Hiruma searched online for more data on the use of magic when he suddenly felt the odd desire to search up on Agon. It felt odd, how it suddenly came up. If he was searching just because Mamori would be going out with Agon, then he knew it was worthless. Agon was just superior in many ways... But if it were about football...

Yes, if it were football, it would be fine. So Hiruma searched up on Agon and was surprised by a news piece he turned up. According to the article, Agon had suddenly announced that he had lost interest in football, and was leaving it for good. Which was odd as, if Hiruma remembered correctly, Agon aimed to be the top player because that would give him all the luxuries anyone would want and he knew Agon would have gotten it with his inborn talent. So why...?

"I'm back!" he heard Mamori cry. Hiruma groaned a little. Why is she constantly breaking his concentration today? He turned to tell her off when he noticed she looked... different, and was struggling to remove the ribbon on her hair. "H-Hiruma, I'm sorry but... could you help me take this off?" said Mamori.

Hiruma put his laptop away. "What the fuck did you do to yourself?"

"Well, I told Suzuna how I didn't know anything about fashion and she just... did this to me," said Mamori, who seemed to have grown tired of trying to look for a way to remove the ribbon. "I've never used these things before so I have no idea how to take it off."

Hiruma sneered. "Are you sure you're a girl?"

"Stop laughing at me and help me please! I already felt really embarrassed walking in here! The people at that party couldn't stop bothering me and kept asking me to join them. I think they're too drunk to notice that it's me."

Hiruma cackled a little as he walked behind Mamori, and looked at the ribbon. It did look pretty complicated, but it was just that there were too many knots as well. He proceeded to untie the ribbon and kept his eyes focused on only the ribbon, trying hard not to look at Mamori's slim neck, or how she smelled oddly nice.

He finally managed to untie the ribbon and watched as Mamori's hair fell softly down. He heard Mamori sigh in relief. "Thank you, Hiruma," she turned to smile at him. "I need to go get rid of the makeup. Don't you think I look like a clown?"

His initial thoughts were no. It actually accentuated Mamori's features perfectly. Like how blue her eyes were, and how soft her lips looked. But he grinned and said, "Yup, just like a fucking clown."

Mamori shook her head smiling. "Somehow hearing that from you isn't comforting at all." She then headed to the bathroom.

Hiruma went back to his laptop and placed his face in his hands. Damn these thoughts. Damn it all. It hurt even more to remember that she was probably going to look even prettier when she's with Agon. But he then remembered what had happened to him long ago and sighed. "Don't forget who you are..." he whispered to himself, and closed the information he was reading on Agon.

Yukimitsu had just packed his bags and was about to leave when he overheard Munakata in the other laboratory talking to someone he didn't recognize. "I'm surprised you're showing interest in this..."

"Just cut to the chase," he heard the unknown voice say. "Does she have it or not?"

Yukimitsu carefully looked into a small window and saw Munakata looking into what he initially thought was a normal microscope, but he recognized it and knew it was a specially modified one to detect magical powers in blood. "You were right... she does seem to possess celestial powers," said Munakata. "But it doesn't look like she'll be using it anytime soon. It's too dormant."

"That's fine with me," said a guy Yukimitsu couldn't see, but he knew the guy had dreadlocks. He sounded oddly happy with that announcement. "That's all I needed to know."

Yukimitsu took a few steps back. A person with celestial powers? Who could that be?


	10. Chapter 9

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Summary:** The Citizens of Deimon are celebrating the death of a man they deemed Wicked. But is there more to it than what it seems? Could something bigger had happened behind the scenes? Semi-based on the Broadway Musical "Wicked" and is a semi-Musical. HiruMamo and SenaSuzu.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** My best friend is an evil, evil woman. Not a day goes by where she didn't bug me to finish this chapter. And now she can't stop bugging me to finish the next. She bugs me so much that I can't even plan any other projects cause she insists I focus on this story. WHY DO YOU LIKE THIS STORY SO MUCH? RAWR!

LOL! All jokes aside, pretty serious chapter this week. No songs used but this chapter has some pretty important development. I really hope you guys enjoy this! We pretty much reach a turning point right now in this story as well as the end of the first arc.

A big, big glomp to moodylollipop for being my beta for this. ^^ Enjoy!

* * *

"Hey Monta, ready to go?" asked Sena as he picked up his text books. Classes had just ended and it was time for them to head to the field.

"I'll be with you in a sec," said Monta, and winced at the huge pile of books on his desk he intended to lug back to his room. His marks were dropping and he was desperate to get his grades back up, so he borrowed a bunch of textbooks. Looking back, he feared he may have borrowed one too many. "I'm gonna try and pack these in my bag."

"All right, I'll see you on the field then," said Sena before speeding off. Monta was alone in the classroom now, and was trying to force a textbook into his overflowing, splitting bag when he overheard some students talking in the distance.

"What do you mean it was Agon who turned that boy into a gorilla?" he heard one boy say.

"I'm telling you, I work for Agon now and of course, I'll know all his secrets," he heard the other boy say. "It's true, Agon actually possesses powerful magic that no one else has. He doesn't even mutter any spells, and you know how dangerous spells are. Yet you saw what he did to that boy right? It seems no one can cure him. That's because Agon's so powerful."

Monta's eyes widened at this. Was that why Agon made sure Monta left during that night when he confronted him? So that he wouldn't see what he was about to do to that boy? Monta stopped moving, and was trying not to breathe for fear the boys would notice he was in that classroom. "Whoa... so he's in the midst of recruiting more guys? What's up with that?"

"Don't know... all I know is that it's best to be on his side... or else..." Their voices trailed away. Monta finally began to hyperventilate. No way... he couldn't believe what he had just heard...

He left the rest of his textbooks on that desk and ran out of the classroom, hoping to tell Sena or even Mamori what he had heard. In his hurry, he crashed into someone mid-leap out the door, and his textbooks flew in all directions from the long-suffering bag. "MUKYA! Sorry max!"

"Watch where you're going, Fucking Monkey!" he heard the person he crashed into yell. Monta made an "Eep!" sound when he realized that it was Hiruma he'd knocked into.

"H-Hiruma, I'm sorry!" cried Monta. "I-I have to rush…" he muttered to himself as he began to pick up his scattered textbooks. "Something bad's happening in Deimon..."

"Harh?" went Hiruma. "What the fuck are you mumbling about?"

"Can't talk now," said Monta as he finally stuffed all the textbooks into his bag. "I have to go. Oh! You're Mamori's roommate, right? Tell her to beware of Agon!"

"What—" but Hiruma was cut off as Monta ran away helter-skelter. Hiruma shook his head, and headed back to his dorm.

The moment he entered, Mamori was in the middle of cooking something that smelt good. "How're you today, Hiruma?" she asked.

"Stop asking about my fucking day so much," said Hiruma. "It's just the same like any other days. I kept my nose where it should be and no shit happens."

Mamori said nothing as she continued cooking but he could tell she was smiling. It annoyed him how he was starting to understand her quirks and reactions. In order to keep his mind distracted, he decided to start on the textbook he'd just borrowed from the library. He opened his bag to look for it…

And found it missing. "Shit," he muttered to himself.

"What's wrong?" asked Mamori.

"I crashed into that Fucking Monkey and I think he took my textbook by mistake," said Hiruma. He got up and prepared to leave.

"Is he at the field?" Mamori continued to question as she turned off the stove to look at him. "I could follow you if you want..."

"Do I look like some fucking kid?" replied Hiruma.

"Just… be careful, okay?" said Mamori, who looked surprised that she said that.

Hiruma looked at her for a moment, then left saying, "I'll be right back."

Monta reached the field and saw that Sena was already picking up strewn balls on the field. He was about to join him when he heard a boy call out to him. "Hey you! Monkey!"

"MUKYA! I am not a monkey!" Monta automatically reacted, but panicked when he saw that Agon was with the boy who called him. He did his best to keep himself looking calm and not suspicious, but he couldn't stop sweating. He walked up to them. "Y-yeah?"

Agon grinned. "Come. We need to have a bit of a talk."

Monta gulped as the other boys grabbed his arms, with Agon leading the way. He was led into an empty classroom in another building and was forced to sit. Agon sat before him, still grinning. "Now I'll make this quick and simple as I know you don't want to waste your time here... I heard from a little source of mine that you know something interesting... about me..."

Monta gulped even louder. He felt a trickle of sweat falling from the side of his face. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Oh, I think I know what you do," Agon drew closer. "Because I just found out that you mentioned to tell Anezaki Mamori… to beware of me..."

Monta's eyes widened in horror. No way! He was sure no one was around! Could he possibly… "N-n-nope, don't know what you're talking about..."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Agon shouted as he punched one of the desks nearby, and Monta gasped when he saw that he had actually punched through the desk. "I was there. I heard you. I saw you."

Monta was shivering now. Then he swallowed what little fear he showed, and said, "You're not going to hurt Mamori, are you? You've been trying to ask her out a lot…"

"Now why would I hurt her?" said Agon, grinning again. "Sure, she may not have the looks but she has a great body and potentially... a lot more."

Monta blinked. "Is that all she is to you?"

"Were you expecting more from someone like me? Come on now..." Agon laughed a little. "She's definitely going to be a good fuck and that's why—"

Monta lunged himself at Agon, his big hands around his neck. "Don't you DARE ruin my sweet and beautiful Mamori!" he shouted as he tried to choke Agon.

Agon writhed and grabbed at Monta with one hand while the other instantly dipped into his pocket. The boys quickly grabbed Monta who struggled and shouted even louder at Agon. The moment he felt that pendant in his hand, Agon grinned. "Interesting..." said Agon. "Not many have actually fought back, so I applaud your courage. But the few who did..." Agon raised the pendant before him. "Never really got to say that out loud."

Hiruma had just entered one of the college buildings as a shortcut towards the field when he heard a loud commotion in one of the corridors. Curiousity got the best of him, and he decided to look down the corridor, when he saw a monkey rush up to him. "What the fuck?" cried Hiruma.

The monkey actually looked human for a moment when a glimmer of recognition crossed its eyes upon seeing Hiruma. And then it pounced on him, causing Hiruma to fall on his back. "Get off me!" he cried as he grabbed the monkey and tried to push him away, but the monkey held on to him all the more. "MUKYA! MUKYA! MUKYA!" the monkey cried.

Upon hearing that, Hiruma stopped to take a good look at the monkey. "Fucking monkey?" he said incredulously. The monkey nodded excitedly.

Then he heard a girl scream and realized it was a cheerleader. Then another boy was there and he shouted, "Hiruma turned another boy into an animal!"

"What?" Hiruma whispered, but people were crowding around him now.

"I recognize that boy! It's Raimon Tarou!"

"I saw him bumping into Hiruma today, this must be his revenge!"

"It's all your fault!"

"What have you done?"

The monkey, too, seemed shocked by this. He quickly released Hiruma and made gestures attempting to tell them that they were completely wrong. But all that came out of Monta's mouth was just the screech of "MUKYA!"

Hiruma suddenly felt a huge blow on the left side of his face. Someone had thrown a textbook at him. He briefly touched his face which suddenly felt slightly swollen. "Get out of here you demon!"

"No, we've got to kill him before he kills us!"

Hiruma's eyes widened at those words. And suddenly felt hot red anger building in him, something he had managed to suppress for so long was emerging, and he knew that was a bad sign. He quickly got up and began to run. Most of the students got out of his way, but as he feared, a number of boys were chasing him.

Mamori had just set the table for dinner when she heard her phone ring. She quickly picked it up, "Hello?"

"Mamori, is Hiruma with you?" she heard Musashi ask, and noticed the tinge of panic in his voice.

"No, he's not here… is something wrong?"

She heard Musashi sigh. "Listen to me... Now don't panic. I heard that another boy was transformed into an animal. This time it's Monta—"

"Oh no, Monta!" cried Mamori in panic. "Is he okay?"

"He is but that's not my only concern... Some students said they caught Hiruma changing Monta into a monkey... and now they're chasing him. Me and Kurita are looking for him now. He should be somewhere around town heading somewhere we don't know… if you see him..." Mamori put down the phone, grabbed one of her jackets and ran out of the dorm.

As she ran out, she panicked and wondered which direction to go. "Come on, Mamori, think!" she said to herself. Then she heard a bark and saw Cerberus run up to her. "That's it!"

Hiruma was running blindly now. He had no idea where he was, never having been to this side of town. Why were they so fucking persistent in chasing him this far was beyond him. But the more he ran, the more he knew those boys would beat him up if they came anywhere close to him. Every time they came close to whacking him with those metal bars or bats, the anger in him built up. Whatever happened, he had to keep his distance from them… Or else…

The short memory of what had happened a long time ago, a figure before him bleeding and smiling, and the darkness in the alleyway he just ran into caused him to trip on uneven ground. He fell badly and struggled to get up. But he knew it was too late. He turned to find the boys rushing up to him now, their weapons in the air, ready to be thrown at him… and he knew he couldn't hold it in any longer…

Hiruma's eyes turned red. The memory of the bloodied smiling figure lingered in his mind. He was about to release the pent up anger when he heard a familiar voice cry. "NOOOO!"

Hiruma felt some of his powers release. Sharp painful spikes rose from the ground and he panicked as he saw that they were about to reach the boys, but it stopped. And the boys seemed to have hit an invisible wall as they seemed to beat the air, wondering why they couldn't reach Hiruma. He turned behind him to hear the sound of barking and to find Mamori at a distance, breathing hard with her arms in the air. "Are you okay?" she asked, gasping to catch her breath.

"Are you a fucking idiot?" Hiruma cried. "You could get hurt here!"

"Me? What about you?" she replied. Her arms were shaking now and there was an obvious strain in her voice. "Look, we have no time to argue! Just get out of here while I hold those boys off! Cerberus will lead the way out! Look for Musashi and Kurita!"

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine! Just go!" Mamori could not argue with him anymore and looked at him pleadingly.

Hiruma bit his lip. He had just put her in a lot of danger, and felt guilty about it. He wanted to be by her side, make sure she wouldn't get hurt. But he knew by being by her side, she could be even more at risk. With one last look, he nodded and wordlessly left her, Cerberus leading the way.

Once she could no longer hear his footsteps, Mamori dropped the force field and fell on her knees, leaning on a nearby wall, breathing heavily. The boys ran past her, though one stopped to look at her. "He must have done this..." one of them growled, and then ran to follow the others.

"No..." Mamori murmured as she struggled to get up. "It's not what you think..." But they had long gone.

Hiruma continued running, following Cerberus to who knows where. He wasn't sure if Cerberus even knew how to lead him to Musashi or Kurita, but if the Fucking Mutt could just lead him back into an area he would recognize, that'd be just fine. Still it was obvious he was going deeper and deeper into the unknown part of Deimon, and was annoyed by this fact. The Fucking Mutt must be lost!

But the dog suddenly stopped in front of a small, dark building. He stopped, catching his breath and glared at Cerberus. "Why the fuck did you bring me here, Fucking Mutt?" But Cerberus ignored him and scratched the door in a manner that told Hiruma to open it. Hiruma felt tempted to kick the damn dog and tell him that he needed to find the Fucking Old Man and Fatty. But Cerberus began to claw insistently and even growled back at Hiruma. "Keh," went Hiruma as he opened the door, surprised that it was not locked.

Cerberus dashed into the darkness of the building. Hiruma tried to search for a light but failed to find the switch. He was cursing in his head now. He had no time to hang out here! Mamori could be in danger! Just as he finally decided to leave the Fucking Mutt in that building, he heard a click and saw a light shining somewhere in the building. He followed it and saw steps leading down to the basement, where the source of the light was. He suddenly felt drawn to it, despite also sensing a strange aura coming from there as well.

He went down the steps, the aura growing stronger. And soon he saw the source of the light came from a lamp on a lone desk in the basement. Books were scattered on dusty and broken shelves, and especially on the floor. But one particularly large book stood out as the only one on the desk. Hiruma was curious about this. He instantly went towards it and opened the book.

Hiruma's eyes widened. These were spells. Spells were not common, as it was best to just understand magic and develop your own powers from there. But using spells was unheard of as it required pushing the boundaries of one's own magic. As few have yet to attempt this, and those who did ended up in a comatose state for a long while, using spells were banned until they develop a way to use them safely. So why was there a book on spells here? Was this place some kind of restricted library?

He flipped through the pages and held back a gasp. There were spells on controlling and killing people. There were spells that required the use of human body parts and blood. And it was then he figured out something wrong… this book was not written in any language he knew or ever learnt. Yet he was able to read it.

He took a step back away from the book, the horror of realizing this slowly dawning on him. Questions raced through his mind. Why could he read that? What does this all mean?

What in the world is he?

He heard a low growl and noticed Cerberus was next to him, with something in his mouth. He stooped down and took it, and realized it was a diary. He sat on the floor near their only source of light, Cerberus laid down next to him as he read the contents of the library.

After half an hour of reading, Hiruma let out a low cackle. He buried his face in one of his hands, uncertain of the emotions rushing through him. "You Fucking Mutt..." he murmured. "You brought me here on purpose, didn't you? You've been waiting for a chance to lead me here and find out about this shit?"

Cerberus raised his head and merely looked at Hiruma with those evil eyes. "Fuck," Hiruma got up. "This fucking changes everything." He looked at Cerberus, who cocked his head, confused by Hiruma's expression. Was that anger? Sadness? Disappointment? Gladness? "Things won't be the same anymore." He flipped through the book of spells, found one particular spell useful, memorized it, and headed out of the building.

Mamori wandered aimlessly around the unknown part of Deimon, wondering where to go. "Where are you?" she whispered into the air. She couldn't find the boys or Hiruma anywhere, and without Cerberus, she didn't know how to find her way around. Her body still felt weak from her attempt at magic, and she knew she had to rest somewhere soon.

She felt her phone vibrate and picked it up. "Did you find him?" she instantly asked.

"No," said Musashi in obvious disappointment. "He's nowhere around here either. Look, Mamori, it's late. And it's not safe for you to be alone right now."

"But Hiruma's missing! He could be hurt or in trouble!" cried Mamori.

"Listen to me carefully, Mamori," said Musashi sternly. "There's nothing we can do right now. If I know Hiruma, no news from him is good news. We'll just have to trust that he's all right. Now tell me where you are so that I can at least send Sena to you."

Mamori looked at her surroundings where there were only a few dim lights. "I'm at a park. Possibly the only one in this district." Mamori added more details and soon hung up the phone. She sat down on one of the nearby steps, just under one dim light and sighed.

She felt a sudden sharp breeze and shivered, clutching on to her jacket tightly. And then out of nothing, she felt presence behind her. "Well, don't you look like shit."

Mamori felt her heart leap. She was about to turn and call out his name when she heard him sharply hiss, "Don't turn around!"

Mamori felt as though a pair of visible hands kept her down and made it hard for her to move. "W-what?" she murmured. "Hiruma? Is something wrong?"

"... No."

It was such a blatant and obvious lie. Normally Mamori would be angry by this, but something about the situation made her frightened instead. "Are you hurt? Is that why you won't let me see you?"

"I'm fine."

"Hiruma, what—"

"Mamori."

She gasped. Although she had always wanted to hear him say her name, instead of dismissing it or cursing at her, the way he said her name felt... painful. "Hiruma..." she said slowly. "Tell me what's wrong..."

There was a short silence. Mamori's heart was beating frantically now. She still couldn't move to see what was going on. Then she heard him say, "I have to go."

"Go? Where?"

"Away. From you. From everyone."

The shock hadn't really settled in just yet. "Why?"

"Because… I have to."

"But why?" Mamori cried out, louder than she expected. "I don't get it! Why do you have to go?"

"Many people around me are getting hurt, or are losing their chances to do bigger things. I don't want you or anyone to stoop down to my level anymore. You and the others deserve better than that."

"Why are you saying those things? Do you honestly think we should leave you just because bad things happen? We care about you! Musashi, Kurita, Sena... and even myself… we all care about you! So come back, Hiruma…" Mamori felt tears stinging her eyes. She was surprised by this. She should be angry at Hiruma! "We'll work things out!"

"... It's too late. I can't go back anymore."

"Why not?"

"Damn it, Mamori, do you have to make things fucking harder than it is?"

"I'll do it if it means not losing you!" Tears were spilling out now. Mamori cursed inwardly. She should be much stronger than this! "Please... please don't..."

She heard nothing for a moment, other than her attempts to breathe and stop the tears flowing down her cheek. Then she heard him say. "I'm sorry. Goodbye."

Suddenly his presence, the invisible hands, everything disappeared. Mamori sat there in shock, uncertain whether that had really happened. "Hiruma…" she whispered. Then got up and looked behind her, where it was obvious Hiruma was not there.

"Mamori!" she heard Sena call and rushed up to her in full speed. "I'm so glad I found you! I wasn't sure about the roads around here either and…" He saw the tears falling down Mamori's cheek, and that she was looking into the darkness. "What's wrong?"

"He's gone," she whispered.

"Who?"

"Hiruma... he said he's not coming back anymore…"

"You saw him?"

"No. He wouldn't let me see him… He just said he's not coming back anymore… I pleaded for him to stay and yet... Yet..." Mamori clamped her mouth to stop a sob from escaping.

Sena's eyes widened in shock. He instantly called Musashi, told him about what he had just heard and gave him instructions on how to get there. Musashi, driving his father's van, rushed to the scene with Kurita in tow. He rushed up to Mamori. "What happened?" he asked.

Mamori looked a little calmer now. She recounted everything that Hiruma said to her, about how he had to leave to protect them. Musashi and Kurita were shocked by this development, especially when she mentioned that she couldn't move to see him. Kurita ran around the park, screaming out Hiruma's name and bawling. But Musashi noticed that Mamori was looking blankly into the darkness.

He sighed, then placed a hand on Mamori's shoulder. "It's all right..." he said to her. "It's not your fault. There was nothing you could do."

Mamori was surprised by what he said. But felt the pain in her heart double by those words. She hid her face in her hands and cried, wailing and sobbing as softly as she could. Sena rubbed Mamori's back calmly. Once Mamori stopped crying a little, Musashi got all of them into the van, despite Kurita's protest that Hiruma could still be around, and sent them back.

Musashi followed Mamori up to the door to her dorm. "We'll search for him tomorrow," said Mamori, not looking at Musashi as she unlocked the door. "Right?"

"We will, but you won't," said Musashi. "You have that date with Agon tomorrow, remember?"

Mamori winced, clearly she had forgotten it was tomorrow.

"I'll call you the moment we find something on Hiruma," said Musashi. "But for now, you have to get some rest."

Mamori nodded, still not looking at him. "Thank you. Goodnight then."

Musashi nodded as he watched Mamori enter her dorm and locked the door. He closed his eyes, looked up and sighed. "What were you thinking, Hiruma?"

Mamori looked at the dorm. Despite having lived there on her own for quite a while, even before Hiruma moved in, it suddenly felt a lot emptier now. The dinner she had prepared for them was cold now, and she didn't have the appetite to eat her share. She carefully packed up the food and put in the fridge, then washed the dishes and cleared them out. Her mind was empty the entire time, unable to process a single thought.

When everything was clean, she headed to her room but stopped when she glanced at Hiruma's room which was conveniently left open. Then something crossed her mind. Maybe he'd appear if she was in his room? Maybe he'd come rushing in, or appear behind her like before, and then tell her off in that awful language of his?

Maybe he'd come back?

Instantly Mamori headed towards his room. She took a deep breath, then pushed the door open further, and turned on the light in his room.

He didn't appear.

Mamori felt foolish. How stupid! Did she really think that Hiruma would care about his room that much to actually come back? Why did she even think that? Why was she so desperate for him to come back? Didn't they fight a lot? Wasn't he always mean to her?

Tears were brimming in her eyes again. But why does her heart hurt so much?

She carefully walked through his room as clothes and books littered his floor. His bed was unmade but she sat on it as she tried to calm herself down. "There was nothing I could do..." she whispered to herself. "Even though I promised to help him..." Tears spilled down again. "I still couldn't do anything..."

She laid her head on his pillow which she was now staining with her tears, exhaustion slowly claiming her. Before she succumbed to it, she whispered his name one last time before finally falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Extra Notes:** I may not have used any songs from Wicked, but I kept listening to Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" as I wrote the last quarter of this chapter. I didn't realize until after I wrote it that the song fitted quite well with that scene. Just pointing it out. ^^ Really hope this chapter did justice!


	11. Chapter 10

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** It's my best friend's birthday today!! YAAAY!!! And for her present, I shall NOT rant about how she pokes me way more than she should. But take this time and space to say that she is awesome and I'm glad to have her as my best friend. She took a bit out of her busy schedule to go through this chapter and edit it. This chapter is your main birthday present. ACCEPT IT AND GIVE ME CAKE! A-hem. Yes, thanks and happy birthday. ^^

Gawd this chapter was hard to start especially after that last chapter. But I miraculously did it and it didn't take me as long as I expected. Those who listen to Wicked, you'll laugh cause I got Agon to sing again... as Galinda in some parts. XD Mamori and Suzuna take over over that. Remember, I'm not going according to cast for this story.

Song used here is "Thank Goodness" from the musical Wicked. You don't need to know the song though the lyrics play a vital role in this one. Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

~*~

It took a moment for Mamori to realize what she was currently doing despite of having no memory prior to this. She was wearing that black dress Agon had given her for their supposed 'first date', and was now putting on some lipstick. It seemed she had remembered to apply powder and a bit of mascara as well. Ah, all the tips Suzuna had given her a few days ago...

Slowly, memories of Hiruma laughing at her and calling her a clown clouded her mind and she lost herself in them for a moment. Then she snapped out of it and near-slammed the lipstick down on her dressing table. "Stop that!" she chided herself.

She sighed and began to regain herself a little more. That's right, there was nothing she could do about Hiruma leaving. She was just going to have to deal with it. Nodding resolutely to herself, she took a deep breath and for the first time in a long time, really looked at herself in the mirror. She managed a small smile, thinking to herself she'd finally improved a little.

Then she heard a knock at the door. Somehow, upon opening the door, she wasn't surprised that Agon actually came to pick her up personally after the last incident. "Well, aren't you looking gorgeous in that black dress?" he said, grinning appreciatively.

"Well, I did pull out of going for that party with you before," said Mamori, looking down at her black shoes. "And so this is an apology date for being rude about that."

"A date's a date to me," said Agon, who proceeded to wrap an arm around Mamori and sweep her theatrically and a little forcefully away her after she had locked her dorm door. "We're going to have a good night for sure."

As they walked, Mamori felt herself returning in her mind back to moments where she was with Hiruma. Try as she might to force herself to not to think about those times, Agon's self-important jokes and praises made her mind wander… and it always seemed to fall on Hiruma.

"Are you happy?" she heard Agon ask.

"Eh?" At once, Mamori snapped out of her trance and realized she was at a dinner table in a fancy restaurant. Her food was before her but she was yet to touch it, and it now looked cold and rather unappetizing.

"I asked if you are happy," Agon repeated. "I see you smiling and laughing but you don't seem happy at all."

"Well..." Mamori hesitated.

"It's because of that trash isn't it?" said Agon, his face contorted in a snarl. "The one that used to stay with you? How dare he hurt you like that! And how dare he hurt those other students too!"

Mamori shook her head. "I don't think we should accuse him of those things when we don't even know why he did it in the first place."

Agon stayed silent for a moment, planning which route to steer this conversation to. Then he smiled, "But you want to be happy, right?"

"Huh? I don't get—"

"Be with me, Mamori," said Agon, looked at her solemnly. "I promise I won't break your heart like he did. I'd always be by your side... and of course, you'll always be by my side..." He grinned.

Mamori blinked and looked at Agon, confused. "What do you mean? Hiruma didn't break my heart on purpose."

"But he DID break it," said Agon. "I won't do that." He then decided to use a different plan, noticing that Mamori wasn't about to be convinced solely by this. "I see you have no appetite, so let's leave here and take a short walk." He stood up abruptly and grabbed Mamori's hand.

The feeling of Agon's hand around hers felt oddly foreign to her. But it reminded her of the last time someone had led her this way, away from danger and what she feared, that someone's hand had felt a lot more comforting than this...

Mamori's train of thought was broken by the sound of people shouting. She was shocked to find a group of people crowded around the open field near Deimon College, most of them equipped with bats and other forms of weapons, as though ready to kill.

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Ev'ry day, more wicked!  
Ev'ry day, the terror grows!  
All of Deimon's ever on alert!  
That's the way with Wicked -  
Spreading fear where e'er he goes  
Seeking out new victims he can hurt!_

**[A Hysterical Woman] **  
_Like some terrible green blizzard  
Throughout the land he flies_

**[An Outraged Man]**  
_Disgracing all of Deimon  
With his calumnies and lies!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_He lies!  
Save us from the Wicked!  
Shield us so we won't be hexed!  
Give us warning:  
Where will he strike next?  
Where will he strike next?  
Where will he strike next!?_

Mamori was horrified. "This can't be happening..." she whispered.

Agon was quick to notice this, and grinned. "Perfect..." he whispered to himself and then walked towards the crowd. "Fellow Deimonians! As terrifying as this all may be, let us put aside our panic for this one day... and celebrate! For today, Mamori, the smartest and most beautiful girl I have ever known, has agreed to be my girlfriend."

The crowd was surprised at this unexpected announcement, but soon cheers from the cheerleaders and other Deimon College students rang through the air. Suzuna was among those cheering. Mamori took a step away from Agon and was about to protest but Agon grabbed her hand again.

**[Agon]**  
_Oh what a celebration  
We'll have today!_

**[Deimon College Students]** (dancing and celebrating with the Citizens of Deimon)  
_Thank Goodness!_

**[Agon]**  
_Let's have a celebration  
In our own way!_

**[Deimon College Students]**  
_Thank Goodness!_

**[Male Student]**  
_Fin'lly a day that's  
Totally Demonic free!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_We couldn't be happier  
Thank Goodness!_

**[Agon]** (looking at Mamori)  
_Yes,  
We couldn't be happier,  
Right, dear?  
Couldn't be happier  
Right here  
Look what we've got  
A fairy-tale plot  
Our very own happy ending  
Where we couldn't be happier,  
True, dear?  
Couldn't be happier  
And we're happy to share  
Our ending vicariously  
With all of you  
She couldn't look prettier  
I couldn't feel humbler  
We couldn't be happier  
Because happy is what happens  
When all your dreams come true!_

"But, Agon!" cried Mamori, her voice drowned out by the cheers. "I didn't say anything—"

"Ah, Agon, I'm so happy for you," said Munakata, who appeared before them. "As one of the Professors chosen to investigate the strange happenings in Deimon, I have strived to ensure that everyone knows the story of what has happened.

**[Munakata]**  
_The day when this all happened  
And that demon was the cause  
And although we couldn't figure why initially  
When he cursed a boy as shown  
You decreed that all should know  
Of the evil he's done officially!_

_Then with an angry squeal  
That evil demon burst from concealment  
Where he had been lurking surreptitiously!_

There was a row of gasps among the crowds, and instantly the rumbling of whispered gossips swelled.

**[Female Student]**  
_I hear he has an extra eye  
That always remains awake_

**[Male Student]**  
_I hear that he can shed his skin  
As easily as a snake!_

**[Random Housewife]**  
_I hear that rebel creature  
Is giving him food and shelter!_

**[Random Male Citizen of Deimon]**  
_I hear his soul is so unclean  
Pure water can melt him!_

"What!?" Mamori cried out.

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Melt him!?  
Please! Somebody go and melt him!_

"This is outrageous! I refuse to listen to all this anymore!" cried Mamori, anger brewing within her as she stormed away from Agon. Agon quickly glanced at Suzuna, who panicked when she saw this, and hurriedly ran up to Mamori.

"Mamo-nee! Wait!" cried Suzuna.

Mamori stopped upon hearing Suzuna's voice. "Suzuna? Why are you here?"

"To congratulate you of course!" said Suzuna, holding on to Mamori's hands. "We're so happy that you finally found the right man for you especially after all that's happened to you, it's like a dream come true! Don't you think so, Mamo-nee?"

**[Suzuna]**  
_That's why we couldn't be happier  
No, I couldn't be happier_

Mamori noticed how Suzuna was looking at her expectantly.

**[Mamori]** (shrugging)  
_Though it is, I admit  
The tiniest bit  
Unlike I anticipated..._

**[Suzuna]** (still smiling)  
_But we couldn't be happier  
Simply couldn't be happier_

Suzuna giggled, trying to hide the hint of sadness in her eyes. "Well, not simply."

**[Suzuna]** (looking a little sad)  
_'Cause getting your dreams  
It's strange, but it seems  
A little - well - complicated  
There's a kind of a sort of cost  
There's a couple of things get lost  
There are bridges you cross  
You didn't know you crossed  
Until you've crossed_ (holds Mamori's hands more tightly)  
_And if that joy, that thrill  
Doesn't thrill you like you think it will  
Still,  
With this perfect finale  
The cheers and ballyhoo  
Who  
Wouldn't be happier?  
So I couldn't be happier  
Because happy is what happens  
When all your dreams come true  
Well, isn't it?_

Mamori glanced downward for a moment. No, this wasn't what she wanted and she honestly could not take lying to herself anymore. Yet Suzuna seemed oddly desperate for Mamori's approval, and succumbing once more to the needs of others, she smiled at Suzuna.

**[Mamori]**  
_Happy is what happens  
When your dreams come true!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Yes, let's celebrate if we may be so frank!_

**[Mamori & Suzuna]**  
_Thank Goodness!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_For all this joy, we know who we've got to thank  
Thank Goodness!  
That means especially Agon_

**[Agon]** (grinning)  
_And my girlfriend!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_They couldn't be goodlier  
She couldn't be lovelier  
We couldn't be luckier_

**[Mamori & Suzuna]**  
_We couldn't be happier_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Thank Goodness_

**[Everyone]**  
_Today!  
Thank Goodness for today!_

Sena, Kurita and Musashi noticed the crowd as they returned from a long day of searching for Hiruma in vain. As they approached the crowd, they were shocked not only because of the rumours being spread about Hiruma, but also to hear about Mamori becoming Agon's girlfriend. "Well, that wasn't what I was expecting..." said Musashi.

"Well, I suppose Mamori would be a lot happier this way," said Kurita. "But that still doesn't make sense..."

"Agon must have opted for this," said Musashi. "We all know Agon will find a way to get what he wants, and as he's been after Mamori for a while now..."

"Suzuna!" cried Sena, noticing the petite girl with Mamori. He turned to Musashi and Kurita. "Guys, I'm sorry but—"

"Go talk to her," said Musashi. "I know you two haven't gone out in a while."

Sena nodded and sped off. "Why hasn't Suzuna been going out with Sena?" asked Kurita.

"She seems to be avoiding him from what I've heard," said Musashi, as he watched Sena approach Suzuna

"I finally found you two," said a familiar voice to Musashi and Kurita. They turned and were surprised to see who it was.

"Unsui!" cried Kurita. "Wow, it's been so long! How did you find us?"

"The same to the two of you," said Unsui. "Well, my brother down there mentioned something about this huge party in passing... but I also heard that you've requested your old football team to help you look for Hiruma. Is that true?"

Musashi looked sharply at Unsui. "What little you've heard us mention is true. We need help looking for him. But why did you come to see us?"

Unsui gave him a worried look. "Because something else has happened and I need to talk to the two of you."

Meanwhile, Mamori was soon swarmed by most of the other citizens who were all shouting abuse of Hiruma to her, thinking she might've suffered the most as his dorm-mate. Her face flushed as she tried to control her rising anger while entertaining them as gently as possible with different perspectives of the matter. As she argued with them, Suzuna stood by the sidelines, glad to have distracted Mamori from the fact that Agon had just claimed Mamori as his. "Just a bit more..." she whispered to herself.

"Suzuna?"

She jumped a little when she heard Sena's voice. "S-Sena?" cried Suzuna turning to look at him. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Well, we heard noises from the crowd and then I saw you here..." said Sena sheepishly. "H-how are you?"

"O-oh, I'm fine..." said Suzuna, looking down.

"You haven't been replying any of my messages lately," said Sena. "And you're not at your usual place... is something wrong?"

Suzuna hesitated. "Look, Sena... the cheerleaders..."

"Are they hurting you? Cause if they are, I told you to call me and I'd help you, right?"

Suzuna continued looking down. "Sena... I don't think it's that simple anymore..."

"What do you mean? Suzuna..."

"I'm sorry, Sena," said Suzuna, looking up, her eyes obviously filled with tears. "But I think you're better off without me. I have to go." With that, Suzuna ran into the crowd.

"Suzuna! Suzuna!" cried Sena, trying to catch her but the crowd made it impossible to find her anymore, especially since she was so small. Sena's heart was crushed by this, and he felt even angrier when he saw a few of the cheerleaders grinning at him.

"Sena?" said Mamori when she spotted him.

"I'm telling you!" cried one of the housewives to Mamori. "He killed his mother! He is the incarnation of the devil, I say"

"I'm sorry but I really can't accept that argument," said Mamori desperately, moving through the crowd. "Just because he looks like a demon does not mean he truly is the devil. And I apologize but I have to go. A friend needs me." Mamori bowed her head in apology and quickly ran to Sena.

"She's too nice a girl," said one housewife.

"She might just be under a spell of that demon," said another.

"Thank goodness Agon's looking out for her now."

"Sena!" cried Mamori as she drew closer to Sena. "Are you all right? Why do you look so mad?"

Sena looked at Mamori, the anger in his eyes not completely burnt out. "I'm sorry, Mamori. It's just... I think something's wrong with Suzuna and the cheerleaders are behind it."

Mamori looked at the cheerleaders, some were dancing while others clung on to Agon, bawling loudly, "Why her?!". "You know... I, too, felt that Suzuna has been acting strange lately."

"I don't know what to do..." said Sena. "She won't talk to me about it and just now she just... said I was better off without her."

That struck a chord with Mamori, who could still hear Hiruma saying those same words. She placed her hands on Sena's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "I'll look after Suzuna for you."

Sena stared back in surprise. "How? I mean... the cheerleaders..."

"People think I'm with Agon now, right?" said Mamori. "And the cheerleaders admire Agon. I think I can use that to my advantage and figure out a way to help Suzuna. Just don't give up hope! We can still help her!"

Sena swallowed a little and then nodded. "Let me know if you need any help as well."

Mamori smiled. Despite taking this on, she felt a small burden lift from her.

"Sena!" Kurita cried jogging up to them. "Come on, you wouldn't believe who came to see us. Unsui's here!"

"Unsui? Agon's twin brother?" said Sena. "But why?"

"I don't know but he wants to talk to us," said Kurita. Then he looked at Mamori. "Ah! You can join us too! But... maybe Agon..."

Mamori shook her head. "It's fine. I'm sure he doesn't mind me meeting his brother. Besides..." She looked at Agon who clearly seemed to have forgotten her as he continued partying with everyone, basking in the attention. "I don't think he'd miss me much."

So Mamori joined Kurita and Sena to meet up with Musashi. Unsui was surprised to meet Mamori. "My brother speaks of you a lot," he said to Mamori's surprise.

"What does he say about me?"

"You're very interesting to him," said Unsui thoughtfully. "And, it annoys the heck out of him how you always seem to find a way to escape from him..." He laughed a little. "Which you seem to be doing right now."

Mamori sheepishly grinned. "Well, his company isn't exactly the most entertaining."

"We have to go someplace a lot more private to talk," said Musashi. "Let's head down to one of the pubs a few blocks away. My old man knows the owner, he won't spill anything."

"Is it all right if she comes?" asked Unsui, pointing at Mamori.

"Agon might not like it," said Musashi.

"I don't care about Agon," said Mamori. "If it's something important and I can help, I'd like to be a part of it."

"You shouldn't push yourself like that after what happened," Musashi looked concerned.

"I said I want to help," Mamori stared back at Musashi stubbornly. Musashi sighed and nodded, and herded them into his van. At the pub, Musashi led them to a small private room, simply furnished with a table, a couple of chairs and one lamp that lit the room. The moment the door was closed, Unsui spoke up without waiting to be seated.

"Karin is missing."

"Karin?" said Musashi, as he sat. "Wasn't she the Quarterback from Teikoku High School?"

"Yes, but we're studying in the same college now, just a normal one," Unsui added. "My brother has the magic skills but I don't. So I applied to that college and it just so happened Karin joined as well. We became fast friends since we both shared a passion for Football."

"That's right," said Kurita. "Karin was amazing in Football though she didn't quite like playing it."

Unsui nodded. "She didn't like it, but we enjoyed talking about it, that's for sure."

"When did she disappear?" asked Sena.

"Yesterday," said Unsui. "I know you guys think she might have run away but that makes absolutely no sense to me. I've been looking for her high and low, and there's no trace of her anywhere. The only clue I can think of is my brother, Agon."

"Agon?" said Mamori in surprise. "Why him?"

"A few days ago Agon expressed interest in Karin especially after he bumped into the two of us. He said he would really like to meet Karin again to speak to her about something. But he refused to tell me what. Now that she's missing, I've asked Agon whether he's seen her but he completely denied meeting her and I can't be sure of that. So I ask if you've seen her, to please let me know."

"That's why you wanted to speak in private," said Musashi. "Cause your biggest suspect is Agon."

"There's no denying something is wrong with my brother," said Unsui. "For him to suddenly drop out of Football like that is suspicious enough. There're just too many weird things happening around him, and it bothers me that I'm the only one who sees this."

"No..." said Mamori. "Especially since you said he's interested in me, I don't think you're the only one..."

Unsui smiled at her. "Thank you. I know it's hard for all of you as well since Hiruma has disappeared. But I just thought I'd let you know of this. Hopefully, one of us will find what we're all looking for and we can put our hearts at ease."

They nodded silently as they proceeded to leave the pub, the mood solemn but alot more hopeful than before. Musashi dropped Unsui off at the bus station before they headed back to the party in order to avoid suspision. "Musashi, I've been meaning to ask you something..." said Mamori.

"What is it?"

Mamori hesitated for a moment. "Did Hiruma really do a lot of bad things prior to us meeting?"

Kurita gasped a little.

"I-I'm sorry!" cried Mamori. "Those housewives! They said a lot of bad things about Hiruma and I had no argument against the stories they created when Hiruma was just a child... especially.... especially..."

Musashi remained calm as he continued driving. Then he said, "I think you deserve to know the truth."

Kurita and Sena looked at Musashi intently as well.

"One of the biggest stories about Hiruma is that he killed his mother," said Musashi. "If you asked Hiruma that, he would say it was true."

"Why?!" cried Mamori.

"Because of his powers," said Kurita, looking down sadly. "Ever since he was a kid Hiruma had strange powers that go off whenever he feels threatened."

"I've heard about this," said Sena. "That spikes would appear from the ground and badly injure those around him, or even that they would be struck down by an invisible hand."

"And worst..." said Musashi. "He was known to magically lift objects that would throw themselves at those around him. But that's only when he feels incredibly threatened. And sadly, thanks to his looks, he was threatened almost constantly."

Mamori's eyes widened in horror. "T-then... what happened to his mother?"

"Hiruma was only 7 at the time. A bunch of boys were beating him up after school because of the way he looked. I wasn't there when it happened. He moved to my school after that. But I heard rumours that they were beating him up pretty bad... and then..."

"His mother appeared," said Kurita. "She shielded the boys when Hiruma couldn't hold his powers any longer and..."

"Those spikes appeared," said Musashi, too calmly. "Stabbed her pretty badly. Those kids ran without giving a damn and blamed it all on him. She died from a major loss of blood."

Mamori gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. "But it was an accident!"

"Think about it, Mamori," said Sena. "Those kind of powers are impossible here... everyone was certain then that he was a demon thanks to that incident. His father, too, blamed him for what had happened."

"But how can they say that!" cried Mamori. "Magic isn't limited to just doing everyday things to the extreme! It's so obvious Hiruma needed help!"

"Help no one can offer him," Musashi pointed out. "Remember, magic is not well developed here. Spells are considered dangerous, and doing more than one kind of power, especially one that is destructive and is not normal, ultimately labels you as a monster."

"But Hiruma did his best to be normal though," said Kurita. "When he moved to our school, we introduced him to Football and that helped him a lot. Planning out strategies, taking risks and playing on the field made it easy for him to forget who he is. The more he played, the less his powers were apparent. Oh, and shooting helps him too. It made him feel like he was in control of his own powers, that HE chooses when to hurt someone. That's why I don't mind when he shoots me."

"But they stopped him," said Mamori. "They took away the only thing that made him happy..."

Silence hung in the air for a moment as they reached the party, but remained in the van. "He did his best to fight who he is," said Musashi. "And I think he decided to stop fighting. That's why he left."

Mamori felt the familiar sting in her eyes. She quickly rubbed the tears away and got out of the van. "Thank you," she said to Musashi, Kurita and Sena.

"Mamori, do you hate Hiruma? For what he has done?" Kurita called out to her.

Mamori turned to face him and smiled. "I hate him," she replied. "But not for that." Kurita smiled in relief.

"Be careful with Agon," said Musashi. "Don't hesitate to call me if he does something weird."

Mamori nodded. "I'll find out what I can about Karin as well."

"I'm sorry to add Suzuna to your list too," said Sena.

"Don't mention it," Mamori smiled. "I care about Suzuna as well. And besides..." Mamori looked down a little. "This is the best that I can do at the moment."

"And it is a lot," said Musashi. "We'll call you if we find out anything in regards to Hiruma. Until then, be careful."

Mamori nodded and waved goodbye to the boys as they drove off. She stood and watched the students still dancing and laughing while the other citizens huddled in clusters,whispering and discussing among themselves, probably swapping more stories about Hiruma. She took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind from the guilt she felt for deceiving Agon as well as for pushing Hiruma off from her main priority, and focused on finding clues that would help Karin and Suzuna. With that in mind, she headed towards the crowd, more determined than ever.


	12. Chapter 11

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Oh shoot. This turned out a lot longer than I hoped. But it was kind of a hard chapter to write. The next one's gonna be tricky too cause I'm still not sure whether to keep a Wicked song in or take it out to make it less cheesy. XD

Anyways, much love to my best friend who actually took some time to go through this. Thank you!

Song used is "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. I cannot express how much I LOVE this song. Lovelovelove it!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

* * *

Yukimitsu was in the midst of writing a report in one of the laboratories when Munakata walked in. "Ah, busy as usual I see," said Munakata as he headed towards one of the cabinets. "What report are you working on this time?"

"Liquids that have the ability to contain magical elements," replied Yukimitsu, without looking up.

Munakata nodded, thoughtfully, a knowing expression on his face. "That is a tough one." And then changed the subject in a beat, "So have you heard the news?"

"What news?" asked Yukimitsu, still deeply engrossed with the report. "It better be good, you know I need to hand this in soon."

"Oh, nothing big then," Munakata shrugged as he opened one of the cabinets. "Just that you are acquainted with Anezaki Mamori, am I right?"

"Yeah, we studied together back in High School. Why?"

"Well, it seems she's finally going out with Agon."

Yukimitsu stopped writing for a moment to stare blankly up at Munakata. "Agon? The ex-Football player?"

"Yes, and a confidant of mine," said Munakata, as he finally picked up a small bottle and closed the cabinet. "He has taken a keen interest in my work which is rare for a Football player, whether or not he still plays."

Yukimitsu hardly heard the last few words, "Agon..." he murmured, his pen paused mid-air as he tried to remember what Agon looked like. He had only seen Agon a few times in the newspapers after all. Then his eyes widened. "Agon has dreads..." he whispered to himself, looking straight at Munakata once more.

"Hmm?" said Munakata, unaware of what Yukimitsu was thinking.

"You said that you were studying about the magical powers within certain beings, right?" asked Yukimitsu, forcing his tone to stay light and just mildly interested rather than concerned as he continued to pen his analysis. "You know, one part of the report I'm writing requires me to state whether or not a liquid could contain this certain power that's being studied... I heard you worked on it so do you mind if I ask for your opinion?"

"Why, sure!" cried Munakata, bottle forgotten as he promptly took a seat beside Yukimitsu. "You know me, always glad to help prove the wonderful powers of science. So what sort of power are we looking at?"

"Celestial powers..." said Yukimitsu, trying to sound as serious as possible.

This was obviously not what Munakata had expected as his expression changed from excitement to surprise and finally serious. "Celestial powers... but there's no way a mere liquid can contain that."

"And why is that?" asked Yukimitsu.

"Well, the reason they're called celestial powers is because the powers are what we believe the angels we define in our mind have," said Munakata. "It varies from story to story but these celestial powers are the power to heal, fly and especially protect. That's what they're most known for."

"Protect?" Yukimitsu was startled, remembering Mamori and how she discovered her powers back in high school.

"Yup," said Munakata. "So I highly doubt liquid could contain it. It's known to be so powerful that anyone who has it never really fully uses it. In other words, they can only use one celestial power in a small amount. If they do more than one, or push their limits with one of the powers, it will, in a sense, consume them. Although this is just a theory. I've never seen anyone with celestial powers that strong, but from the cases I have seen, they're all mostly dormant."

"Dormant?" Yukimitsu prompted Munakata, attempting to get as much of an explanation out of him as he could.

"Meaning they actually do have the ability to use those powers but it won't waken... I don't know how a person can tap into them. But we normally advise them not to as our theories suggest these powers can consume, and practically kill them. So far nothing like that has happened though..."

"Err... thanks," said Yukimitsu, realizing that he had stopped writing. Thinking he'd had enough of this report, he closed his text and prepared to leave. "Yup, that really helped me with my report. Thanks again."

"You're welcome," said Munakata waved away the gratitude with one hand, picked up the bottle with the other and left the lab.

After clearing up, Yukimitsu quickly left the college grounds and decided he might just have to make a quick stop by Deimon.

In the meantime, Mamori was getting quite annoyed. People would not leave her alone before, during or after classes now. They either wanted to ask her about Hiruma and how he transformed Monta and prompt her for confirmations on how he might have hurt her. Many wanted to talk about how she and Agon were dating now. And among those, some were supportive and said they suited one another, while the others often sneered that Agon was too great for someone like Mamori and she should be grateful he even looked at her.

Almost at the end of her tether, Mamori finally managed to sneak away into the quiet spot under the staircase where she and Hiruma used to meet and sighed as she sat on the cold floor. She was glad that this side of the building was not usually used by most of the students, and relished her little moment of silence before having to rush off to her next class and bear the constant rain of questions and comments.

Trying to talk to Suzuna proved trickier than she had expected. The girl was a lot chirpier now, despite having just broken up with Sena, and no matter how much Mamori tried to get her to talk about Sena she would just look away and change the topic. The cheerleaders were treating her better now but her enthusiasm when she danced and cheered was deteriorating. And no matter how much chirpier she tried to act, Mamori was sure that Suzuna had been crying the nights away because her eyes were noticeably swollen no matter how much make-up she used.

And it was even trickier for Mamori to bring up the topic of Karin when she was supposed to know nothing about her or the fact that she'd disappeared. She had tried asking Agon whether he had met any girls recently besides her, and that proved to be a dumb question as Agon constantly met many other girls though he insisted that Mamori was the best of them all.

She then found an old magazine featuring Karin when she was a Quarterback and tried to bring it up with Agon again. But even then, the all she managed to do was confirm all their suspicions about Agon when he completely dismissed Karin and said she was actually pretty boring. This didn't add up to what Unsui had said about Agon being interested in Karin before.

With everything leading to a dead end, Mamori just wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing anymore. Maybe there really was nothing she could do. Shaking her head she told herself, "I can't give up just yet. I just need to gain more of their trust." She groaned inwardly at the tohught of having to spend even more time with Agon, but decided she would just have to bear with it for the moment.

As if on cue, her phone rang and she sighed when she saw that it was Agon. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" she said without greeting him.

"I miss you too, sweetie," he replied, laughing. "Now, you will be over at the cheerleader's dorm for our little party tonight, right?"

"You're always skipping classes and having loads of parties," said Mamori. "Shouldn't you be doing more important things?"

"I told you before, Mamori, relax. There's no use in worrying about stuff like that. Why don't you come over here into my arms? I'm sure you'll find it very comfortable…" he said seductively.

Mamori cringed. "I'll be there for the party, but I'm heading to class now."

"Hey, didn't I just say—"

"I'll see you tonight, Agon. Goodbye." Mamori hung up, trying to hide her annoyance. Playing girlfriend was not as easy as she had expected, with a boyfriend like Agon who constantly called her at almost all times. She got up and headed to class.

Just as she reached a corner, she almost knocked into someone but stopped in time. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you."

"Mamori! Just the person that I was looking for!"

Mamori blinked in surprise. "Yukimitsu? What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you actually, there's something I need to discuss with you."

"But I have class in a few minutes, can't it wait?" asked Mamori.

Yukimitsu shook his head. "This really can't wait. It's urgent..."

Mamori noted the serious tone of his voice and decided that even though she'd just told Agon off for not attending classes, she may just take a leaf out of his book this once.

Sena was feeling even lonelier of late. Monta had been taken in like the other boy, and there was still no news on whether they'd found a way to change them back. He asked if he could at least visit Monta but since he wasn't related to Monta, the Professors told him that he was not allowed to see him. Suzuna continued to keep her distance from him, even on the field. And although he caught her glancing at him on a few occasions, she still acted as though he never existed, making things harder than they already were.

After one class he decided he might as well head back when he saw Mamori talking to someone else. He walked up to them and was about to greet them when he heard the other person say, "You might be in serious danger. You really should stay away from Agon."

Mamori was silent for a moment, and Sena could see she looked really worried. "If what you just said is true then..."

"I'm sure it is, and everything seems to point in that direction. I don't know what Agon is after but I'm sure he's after you for that reason, and you can't let him."

Mamori sighed. "I understand, but I'm still seeing him tonight. I need to speak to someone."

The other person nodded, and Sena knew this was the right time to interrupt. "Hey, Mamori, sorry to bother you..."

"Ah, Sena!" Mamori smiled. "It's no trouble at all. Let me introduce you to Yukimitsu. We were from the same high school."

Sena shook hands with Yukimitsu. "It's a pleasure to meet you," said Sena.

"Oh, why don't you two exchange numbers, Sena?" Mamori smiled. "Yukimitsu studies magical science so if anything weird comes up you could always call him."

"Weird?" asked Sena, confused. "Like what?"

"Ah!" cried Yukimitsu, catching on. "Yeah, that'd be a good idea! As Deimon seems to be the centre of all the weird events, I can help out if anything happens." Yukimitsu pulled out a piece of paper from a notebook he was holding and scribbled on it. "So be sure to call me if anything... ANYTHING happens," he stressed as he gave the piece of paper to Sena.

Sena took it uncertainly and nodded. Yukimitsu smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, it's just a precaution."

"You're already starting to sound like a doctor," joked Mamori.

"I do what I can," he smiled. "Anyways, I must go. I'm sorry you had to miss class because of me. Take care of yourself," he nodded at Mamori, then Sena. "You, too, Sena." And with that, he left.

Once Yukimitsu was out of sight, Sena spoke up. "Is something wrong, Mamori?"

Mamori sighed as she looked at Sena. "Maybe. I'm not quite sure anymore."

"Are you going to that party tonight in the cheerleader's dorm?"

"How did you know about that?"

Sena shrugged. "Everyone's talking about it since it's Agon's party. All the cool kids are going and of course, it's invitation only."

Mamori frowned. "You really miss her, don't you?"

Sena looked down as he tried to smile. "I'm not a good liar, am I?"

Mamori suddenly came close to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry," she said.

Sena squirmed a little uncomfortably in Mamori's arms but was more surprised by her actions. "W-why are you apologizing?"

"For not being able to help you much in the end," said Mamori as she pulled away from Sena. "I'll do my best to talk to Suzuna tonight. Don't give up just yet. I'm sure there's a reason behind it and it's not because she doesn't want to be with you."

Sena looked at Mamori who was looking at him solemnly. He then nodded and said, "Thank you, Mamori. I see why she calls you Mamo-nee."

Mamori blushed faintly as she took a few steps away from him to show that she was about to leave. "It's in my nature, I suppose. Oh, do let Musashi and Kurita know about tonight's party. I'll call them if anything odd happens."

Sena nodded. "Be careful."

Mamori smiled in return. "I will. Don't worry"

The day soon turned to dusk and Mamori decided on a simple blouse and skirt, hoping not to stand out when she was at the party. She grabbed a jacket on her way out as the nights were getting colder lately and stepped out of the dorm. Once outside, she heard a few of Deimon's citizens gathering, a sight that happened almost every day since Hiruma disappeared.

"We have to find him!" one person cried.

"We have to kill him!" another cried, and they would then discuss possibilities, as well as how to lure him out and capture him. Mamori shook her head and carried on.

When she arrived at the cheerleaders' dorm, most of them were talking in little clusters around the large hall while a few of the cheerleaders were huddled around Agon, cooing and talking flirtatiously to him, as he nonchalantly lounged, drinking liquor on one of the couches. Mamori sighed at the sight and decided to look for someone else instead.

She found Suzuna sitting by a window all alone, looking out into the dark sky, where the last traces of the sun were now disappearing. "Suzuna...?" Mamori called out.

Suzuna jumped, obviously unaware of her surroundings, her foot landed awkwardly and she fell on her knees. "Ah!" she cried out.

"Suzuna, are you hurt?" cried Mamori as she bent down to help her up.

"I'm fine..." said Suzuna. "Urgh, I get distracted so easily!" she giggled as she slowly got up. "I'm sorry."

"Suzuna, I really need to talk to you."

"Not now, Agon's looking for you!"

"But..." Suzuna began pushing her forward. "Suzuna!" But Suzuna kept pushing Mamori towards the couch until Agon finally noticed her.

"Ah, so you're already here, my beautiful girlfriend," said Agon. "Took you long enough."

Mamori stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "I'm on time. It's you who spent the whole day here."

"And you should have been with me the whole day yet you refused," drawled Agon, looking pretty red in the face. "You really need to learn how to keep up with me. Now sit next to me, the party's finally gonna begin."

Mamori shook her head but sat on the couch where some of the cheerleaders moved begrudgingly. Agon pulled her close to him but Mamori almost gagging at the smell of alcohol, pushed him away under the pretext of not feeling well. Agon protested but gave up the moment the music started playing loud and heavy music.

To Mamori's surprise, Agon suddenly stood and made an announcement in his drunken state. "Thank you all for being here! As promised, I have brought a special entertainment for all of you… as requested," Agon grinned, then nodded at one of the boys who scurried into another room.

Mamori couldn't see what the boy had brought out, but she heard shrieks of horror at first, then laughter. And soon the laughter continued to grow, and Mamori was now curious as to what everyone was laughing at. She got off her seat and gasped.

It was a monkey, with a collar around his neck and was being dragged around by a chain. "MUKYA! MUKYA!" the monkey cried in fear and pain as the crowd continued laughing, cheering and passing the poor monkey's chain from hand to hand until it stood before Agon.

Agon's grin widened. He walked up to the shivering monkey and murmured. "Did you really think I'd let you off that easily?" Agon placed a hand in his pocket, and Mamori noticed that he was holding something inside it.

Suddenly the monkey let out a high pitched shriek and convulsed in pain. Mamori placed a hand on her mouth in horror reeling from the shrieks that sounded awful, almost human-like…

Then something clicked in Mamori's mind. She looked at the monkey carefully, heard its cries and let herself be consumed in horror as she realized who the monkey was. "Monta..." she whispered.

But everyone was laughing and even Agon seemed to be enjoying the sight. Mamori saw Suzuna with both hands over her mouth and it was obvious Suzuna knew who the monkey was. In anger, she cried out, "STOP!!"

Agon instantly pulled his hand out of his pocket. The monkey stopped shrieking and slumped wearily on the floor. Mamori ran up to him, crying, "Monta! Monta!"

She approached Monta and held back tears as she saw the sorry state he was in. He had obviously been tortured and was badly wounded. As she tried to place a hand on Monta, he flinched and backed away from her. The crowd gasped and some of the cheerleaders giggled in amusement. "Monta... Monta... It's me, Mamori..."

Monta looked at her and she could tell he obviously recognized her. But he was ashamed and embarrassed at the state he was in. He wrapped his arms around himself and turned his face away. Mamori got up and took off the jacket she was wearing, and slowly approached Monta. "It's all right, Monta. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you anymore. You don't have to be scared. I'm here now."

She placed the jacket around Monta, and Monta looked at her. She saw the deep pain and sadness in his eyes, so Mamori knelt down and held him in her arms. "You shouldn't have had to go through this. It's all right. Nothing's going to happen to you anymore."

Monta made small monkey noises to acknowledge her and then closed his eyes and passed out. She continued holding on to him glaring at the crowd around her, and then she turned all the fury in her stare at Agon. "What is the meaning of this?" she asked him.

"What are you talking about?" asked Agon, not looking at her directly.

"This is a student!" Mamori cried. "One of the boys who got magically transformed! What is he doing here?!"

"He's a student?" asked Agon in utter surprise as he looked at the boys who brought Monta in. "What is the meaning of this? I asked for a proper monkey, not this!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!!" Mamori shouted so loud that everyone stood still and even the air was still as everyone watched with bated breath. "You said you were there when Monta transformed! You should have known this was him!"

"He looks just like a monkey," Agon laughed. "Like every other monkey! How was I to know it was him? He must've escaped and—"

"I'm leaving," said Mamori, as she got up. She picked up Monta and cradled him in her arms. He was heavy but Mamori ignored the strain in her arms as she remembered the sad look in Monta's eyes. "You can enjoy your stupid party. I want nothing to do with people who think of torturing animals, especially one that is actually human, as entertainment."

Mamori marched out, Monta still in her arms. Agon looked furious now, and glared at Suzuna. Suzuna let out a small squeak and ran after Mamori.

"Mamo-nee!" she cried, trying to catch up with Mamori who was walking really quickly. "Mamo-nee, please wait!"

Mamori suddenly stopped by the road and continued ignoring Suzuna as she pulled out her phone to make a call. "Yukimitsu, I need your help. One of the boys who got magically transformed is with me and he seemed to have been tortured. What should I do?" There was a short pause. "All right. Thank you, Yukimitsu. I'll be waiting in front of my dorm. Yes, that's the one. Thank you."

Mamori resolutely continued to carry Monta towards the front of her dorm. Suzuna followed quietly, feeling certain that Mamori wouldn't speak while she carried Monta judging from her heavy breaths. They passed by the Deimon citizens, who were still together protesting. The moment they reached the front of her dorm area, Mamori laid Monta down on the ground carefully and tried to catch her breath.

"Mamo-nee, you should go back to the party," said Suzuna quietly.

Mamori looked at Suzuna. "Why? So that I can watch them torture more people for their amusement?"

Suzuna winced at the statement. "No, but... Agon looks really mad and I don't think—"

"I don't care about Agon!" cried Mamori. "Suzuna, I don't know why you keep sticking with those kind of people. They're awful and mean and—"

"And selfish and cruel and self-centered?" Suzuna finished, smiling sadly. "I know. But I have no choice. It's where I belong."

"No, it's not, Suzuna!" cried Mamori. "You don't belong there! Listen to me, Sena is waiting for you. He loves you and he wants to be with you."

"I can't be with Sena anymore..." said Suzuna, looking away from Mamori to hide her frown.

"But why? It's those cheerleaders, isn't it? Suzuna, I keep telling you—"

"I just can't! Okay?" cried Suzuna, her eyes swimming in tears. "I have my reasons..."

Mamori's anger subsided a little when she looked at Suzuna, who hurriedly wiped her eyes. "He's waiting for you... Suzuna," said Mamori, but Suzuna continued looking away, trying to hold back her tears.

At that moment, a car drove up. It was Yukimitsu, he parked by the curb and quickly ran up to Mamori. "Are you all right?" he quickly asked.

Mamori nodded. "I'm fine but it's Monta that I'm worried about," she said as she quickly bent down to hold Monta. Yukimitsu quickly followed her and helped her carry Monta into his car. She carefully placed Monta into the backseat and then asked Yukimitsu. "Did you find out who could have gotten Monta out of your college?"

Yukimitsu shook his head. "I called Munakata and he claimed to know nothing."

"Can't he press charges against Agon?" cried Mamori. "This boy was traumatized and taken out when he should've at least stayed in bed."

"Mamori, you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you…" said Yukimitsu. "But they're not keeping the transformed boys in a bed. They're keeping them in cages."

Mamori's eyes widened in shock. "No... they can't!"

"They found no way to help return the boys to their natural state and as they lack any form of human knowledge, they're being treated as animals."

"MONTA IS NOT AN ANIMAL!" cried Mamori. "I saw the way he looked at me! I saw how he knew who I was! How can they say he has no human knowledge? That's an obvious lie!"

"I'm sorry," said Yukimitsu. "But that's what I've heard. Listen, I'll take Monta to my place and he can rest there. If what you say is true, and that he can understand human speech, I can take care of him. Don't worry. But until then, please be careful. You just went against Agon. You're in serious danger right now."

"I can't worry about myself," said Mamori, biting her lip. "Not when I know all this is happening... Just please, please take care of Monta."

Yukimitsu nodded, and got into his car. "I'll take care of him. But please, be careful, Mamori." With that, he drove off.

Mamori just stood at the same spot for a while, and an already uneasy Suzuna began to panic. It was getting colder now and Mamori wasn't wearing a jacket. She walked up to Mamori slowly. "Mamo-nee, maybe we should just head back to your room?"

Mamori turned to look at Suzuna then hurriedly walked towards her room. Suzuna ran to catch up with her and the moment they entered Mamori's room, Suzuna thought she would just grab a jacket or just sit down to relax. But Mamori grabbed a suitcase and started packing some clothes and books. "W-what are you doing, Mamo-nee?"

"I'm leaving," Mamori answered matter-of-factly.

"Leaving? Where?"

"I don't know, anywhere but here."

"But... what about your studies?"

"I realize that it isn't worth studying in a college that obviously doesn't care enough for their students' welfare," said Mamori, as she continued to look through her cabinet. "They're so afraid of the unknown, of what's beyond their current understanding and would rather condemn them than accept them. I refuse to stay and just let this be."

"But what are you going to do?" Suzuna panicked.

"I don't know... all I know is that I have to leave. There's just no good in me carrying on with my studies if I'm going to end up just like everyone else." Mamori closed her suitcase, bringing only her bare minimums and pretty much leaving everything behind.

"But you're good in your studies! You get top marks! You can do great things if you carry on with what you do!" Suzuna grabbed Mamori's hand. "Don't go, Mamo-nee! If you continue studying, maybe you can help change the current views of people and how they treat others like Hiruma and the transformed Monta!"

Mamori stopped for a moment to look at Suzuna. She had a point... but the memory of how Hiruma and Monta were treated filled her with the desire to leave. "I'm sorry, Suzuna. I don't think changing things is going to be as simple as that. I'm sure they'd force me to do things according to their way, and it would either take me years or I would just be living a lie. I have to do something now. I must go."

Suzuna let go of Mamori's hand and seemed oddly angry. "That makes no sense at all! You're just wasting all that talent for nothing! I hope you're happy!

**[Suzuna]** (angrily)  
_I hope you're happy now  
I hope you're happy how you  
Hurt your cause forever  
I hope you think you're clever!_

**[Mamori]** (angrily)  
_I hope you're happy  
I hope you're happy, too  
I hope you're proud how you  
Would grovel in submission  
To feed your own ambition_

**[Mamori & Suzuna]**  
_So though I can't imagine how  
I hope you're happy right now_

Suzuna shook her head. "Mamori, listen to me. Just calm down, we can find a way to work this out.

**[Suzuna]**  
_You could have a bigger purpose  
That you've worked and waited for  
You can have all you ever wanted_

Mamori smiled but shook her head. "I know...

**[Mamori]**  
_But I don't want it  
No, I can't want it  
Anymore..._

_Something has changed within me  
Something is not the same  
I'm through with playing by the rules  
Of someone else's game  
Too late for second-guessing  
Too late to go back to sleep  
It's time to trust my instincts  
Close my eyes, and leap!_

_It's time to try  
Defying gravity  
I think I'll try  
Defying gravity  
And you can't pull me down!_ (grabbing her suitcase and walks out into the hall)

**[Suzuna]** (exasperatedly)  
_Can't I make you understand?  
You're having delusions of grandeur_

**[Mamori]** (shaking her head)  
_I'm through accepting limits  
Cause someone says they're so  
Some things I cannot change  
But till I try, I'll never know!_ (glances at Hiruma's room)  
_Too long I've been afraid of  
Losing love I may have lost  
Well, if that's love  
It comes at much too high a cost!  
I'd sooner buy  
Defying gravity  
Kiss me goodbye  
I'm defying gravity  
And you can't pull me down_

Suzuna noticed the way Mamori was looking at Hiruma's room. "You're going to look for Hiruma, aren't you? He could be anywhere!"

"I may or may not find him," said Mamori, as she remembered how they had worked together and the promise she had made with him. "But I know if he's with me, we can make a difference somehow.

**[Mamori]**  
_Unlimited  
Together we're unlimited  
Together we'll be the greatest team  
There's ever been  
Hiruma...  
Dreams, the way we planned them_

**[Suzuna]**  
_If you work in tandem..._

**[Mamori & Suzuna]**  
_There's no fight that can't be won_

**[Mamori]**  
_The two of us  
Defying gravity  
With him and I  
Defying gravity  
They'll never bring us down!_

Mamori held on to her suitcase tightly and was about to step outside when Suzuna called out to her. "Wait, Mamo-nee!" Suzuna ran up to her and held her hand, this time more gently. "I'm sorry. I've been so terrible lately. I still don't quite get why you're doing this, but I won't stop you. I'll do my best to support you.

**[Suzuna]**  
_I hope you're happy  
Now that you're choosing this_

Mamori smiled. "You too... I hope you finally realize where you truly belong. And...

**[Mamori]**  
_I hope it brings you bliss_

**[Mamori & Suzuna]**  
_I really hope you get it  
And you don't live to regret it  
I hope you're happy in the end  
I hope you're happy, my friend..._

Mamori squeezed Suzuna's hand tightly, then gave Suzuna a quick hug one last time. Then she ran outside into the darkness. She could still hear the crowd of people chanting to catch Hiruma and kill him. She could even hear a couple of Agon's boys running up to her dorm and talking to Suzuna, who led them in the wrong direction. She smiled at this, then looked forward into the unknown road before her.

**[Mamori]**  
_Though I walk on unknowingly  
I'll look to the western sky!  
As someone said before me  
"Everyone deserves the chance to fly!"  
And if I'm flying solo  
At least I'm flying free!  
To those who'd ground me  
Take a message back from me_ (runs forward)  
_Tell them how I am  
Defying gravity  
I'm flying high  
Defying gravity  
And they could try to bring me down  
But even those who is the cause  
Nobody that there is or was  
Is ever gonna bring me down!_

**[Suzuna]** (looking out into the darkness sadly)  
_I hope you're happy!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Go get him, he's wicked!  
Get him!_

**[Mamori]**  
_Bring me down!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_No one mourns the wicked  
So we've got to bring him_

**[Mamori]**  
_Whoa-oh!_

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Down!_


	13. Chapter 12

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Summary:** The Citizens of Deimon are celebrating the death of a man they deemed Wicked. But is there more to it than what it seems? Could something bigger had happened behind the scenes? Semi-based on the Broadway Musical "Wicked" and is a semi-Musical. HiruMamo and SenaSuzu.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** I'm late! So sorry guys! So many things happened to me last week. My parents leaving to America for my sister's graduation, me joining a flash mob, and most importantly, my GrandAunt passed away. Then I had to catch up with work, so things were just too hectic for me to work on this chapter.

This chapter is actually pretty short as I decided to split the original idea I had in mind for this chapter to two. So yes, not only is it short, it has a cliffhanger. I'll do my best to work on the next chapter as soon as possible (especially since I delayed quite a bit, but I hope you could understand!). Should be pretty interesting to write.

No songs used in this chapter. As usual, much love to my best friend for being so understanding last week, for encouraging me to keep writing this chapter and also editing this chapter. ^^

* * *

The news of Mamori's disappearance spread like wildfire. The gossip seemed never-ending. Accusations were thrown back and forth, snowballing, about how strangely Mamori had been acting since she met Hiruma, thus her current rebellious state must be as one accursed by that demon himself. Fueled by such thoughts, even the authorities held an all out search for her, feeling sure nay, believing that Mamori must have been kidnapped refusing to accept for one moment the thought that she may have left on her own accord.

Musashi heaved a sighed as he read an article in the newspaper on Mamori's disappearance. No one ever made a scene when Hiruma disappeared, except to express relief and the occasional 'Good riddance!'. Even Hiruma's father showed no interest in ever finding him, and thought it best that he had disappeared. Mamori would surely not be too happy if she knew about this.

But where was Mamori now? He knew something had happened during the party from what he had overheard from a few students, but what and why did it cause Mamori to disappear was beyond him. He had tried contacting her but she had either turned off her phone, or disposed of it completely. He tried talking to her friends, Sara and Ako, but they were just as clueless as he and, feeding on the little gossip they could find about her, blaming Hiruma as well.

This was getting frustrating. First Hiruma, now Mamori? Were they both out to make his life a living hell? He sat on one of the benches on campus and sat back, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. He wasn't sure what to do now, or who to turn to.

"Musashi!" he heard Sena cry as he zoomed up to him. "Found you! Have you found anything yet on Mamori?"

Musashi shook his head. "Nothing. I swear I have no idea what goes on in their minds..."

Sena sighed. "And I really thought things were going well since Hiruma came here. Now all this has happened... everything is such a mess."

"I guess it was too good to be true. With Agon stealing the spotlight most of the time, it was easy for Hiruma to stay under the radar. But now all these weird events keep coming up and…"

"Weird..." Sena suddenly muttered. Then his eyes widened. "That's it!" He pulled out his phone and rummaged through his pockets for a piece of paper. When he found what he was looking for, he began dialing rapidly.

"What are you up to?" Musashi asked, now curious.

"Mamori told me to call him if anything happens..." Sena then put the phone to his ear. "Hi, is this Yukimitsu? Yeah, this is Sena! Yeah... Mamori's... what?" Sena wore a shocked expression and then fell quiet for a moment. "I-I see... Is he all right? So that could be why... I see." Sena looked crestfallen now, making Musashi even more worried. "Do you know where she could be then? No? All right. Thank you. Do you mind if I come over? Sure. Thanks. I'll see you later."

"What's up? Suddenly you look awful." asked Musashi.

Sena didn't look up. "It seems that she might have left because of Monta..."

"What?" Musashi, startled from this new information. As Sena filled him in on what happened, how Agon had tortured Monta and how angry Mamori was, it made sense why Mamori could not take the students around her anymore. Not to mention the added pressure of being Agon's girlfriend... "But he has no idea where Mamori is right now?"

Sena shook his head. "Not a clue. After picking Monta up, he hasn't heard from her since." Sena stood up. "I'm going to go visit him and check up on Monta."

Musashi nodded. "Let me know how he's holding up," he said as he got up as well. "I'll look for Kurita and we'll search around town for any clues to help look for those two idiots."

Sena smiled a little. "Are you sure you want to call them that?"

Musashi frowned. "In my eyes, they're complete idiots who never really think things through."

Musashi and Sena parted ways and Musashi headed to his van. As he sat in his van, he felt his phone vibrate in the back pocket of his jeans. He whipped it out and noticed it was an unknown number. He picked it up. "Takekura speaking."

There was a short pause, and then a familiar female voice spoke up. "Ah, is that Musashi? I keep forgetting your real name is Takekura Gen..."

Musashi's eyes widened and he hurriedly closed the van door. "Mamori?" he whispered.

"Yes, it's me. I hope you're doing all right?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"Oh, we're doing all right," replied Musashi. "Though, you suddenly disappearing on all of us has done nothing to make matters any better."

"I know... I didn't expect to do that. Are you somewhere private right now?"

Musashi looked around him, looking out for anyone or anything suspicious. "I'm in my van. The doors are closed. Where are you right now?"

"I can't tell you the full details, but I'm in the Zokuto district, staying with a... I guess you can say friend."

"Zokuto?" said Musashi in surprise. "But isn't that place rather dangerous?"

"Don't worry," Mamori assured. "I have quite a reputation here ever since my 'encounter' with one of the well known gang members. They won't harm me"

Musashi raised his eyebrows, but knew better than to question Mamori and her ability to take care of herself. "Why are you in Zokuto? Why did you run away?"

Musashi could tell Mamori was quietly thinking for the few seconds before replying, "I know I'm not the type to run away, and I'm sorry for making you and everyone worry. But something didn't feel right, and I just had to leave."

"So you just got up and left without a plan?"

"No, there was something I had in mind for a while. The moment I decided to leave, I decided to work on that."

"And that is?"

"To look for Hiruma."

Musashi sucked in his breath. "You do realize you can't do it alone."

"I realized that I couldn't do it unless I left that college, especially with Agon constantly on my back. And I heard a few rumours about seeing a man with demonic features around here, which would fit quite well considering this place is full of delinquents and they wouldn't care about Hiruma's appearance too much, though it has caused quite a stir. I'm sure the rumours of what he has done had eventually spread up till here as well. For now, I'll keep searching for him and if I hear anything I'll call you."

"Wait, but how do I contact you if anything were to happen? You could get hurt, you know."

He could tell Mamori was smiling on the other side of the call as she replied, "Thank you for your concern. But it's best if you don't contact me at all. You could be in serious danger, especially with Agon involved, and I'd rather not put you or any of the others through that right now. I just called you to make sure everyone there is all right, and to assure you that I haven't strayed that far away."

Musashi closed his eyes and let out a chuckle. "I stand my ground that you are both idiots."

"Eh?" went Mamori, obviously confused.

"Nothing. Good luck in finding him, and be sure to bring him back."

"Mm," was Mamori's reply. "Take care then," she said before finally hanging up.

Musashi looked at his phone and sighed. Mamori had surely called from a public phone in Zokuto. Deciding that Mamori had truly wanted to embark on this journey on her own, he resigned to letting things be for now and drove around Deimon, either to look for Hiruma or to drown in his own thoughts, he wasn't sure. Once it got dark, he headed back to his own dorm where Kurita should be.

Just as he was a few meters before his place, he saw a commotion going on outside by the street and noticed that even the police were involved. He stopped the van and was shocked to see that five policemen were trying to hold down Kurita. He quickly parked by the side and ran up to the commotion as he heard Kurita cry, "I don't know anything! I really don't! Please let me go!"

"What's going on here?" cried Musashi.

The crowd turned to look at him, and Musashi was appalled to see Kurita forced to the ground as they attempted to tie the big boy down, who was obviously panicking even as he struggled. "Musashi!" cried Kurita when he heard Musashi. "No, Musashi, run! Don't come here! They're after you!"

"What?" murmured Musashi as three policemen continued to hold down Kurita while the other two approached Musashi, cuffs in their hands. Instinct told Musashi to run, for these people will not listen to reason. He turned to find the crowd blocking his way, and that was when it struck him. No matter what he did, there was just no escaping this.

Hiruma yawned lazily as he put down the book he was reading. He looked up the stairs from the basement he was in and saw dark orange sunlight streaming down from one of the windows upstairs. 'So it's evening already', he thought to himself. He rubbed his eyes, finally feeling weary after having spent the whole day memorizing book after book.

It wasn't like him to be studying this much, but everything was vastly new to him and he needed to learn as much as possible, or else...

He heard a growl near him and saw that Cerberus had just brought him food, neatly wrapped in brown paper. Wherever Cerberus got these provisions from, he had at least proven to be a useful mutt despite doing nothing but laze around and shit a whole lot. Hiruma grabbed the little package and proceeded to open it, finding sandwiches neatly cut and arranged within.

Instantly memories of Mamori flooded his mind and he growled angrily at himself. He would not, no, he could not think about things like that anymore. There was just no time to worry about her, or anyone. All he had to focus on now was fix the current problem and make sure no one else got involved.

As he took a bite out of the sandwich, he noticed that Cerberus had also brought a couple of newspapers with him. Hiruma had been keeping up with the news in Deimon, just in case something out of the ordinary happened. Cerberus wouldn't bring the newspaper every day, but he would bring a few at once. Despite the news being dull and dismal despite his disappearance, Hiruma knew better than to skip over things that were happening in Deimon.

So when he read the last few newspapers, his eyes widened in shock as he read yesterday's news reporting Mamori's disappearance, as well as another article in today's newspaper that reported Musashi as the reason for Mamori's rebellious disappearance. Musashi was accused of being in an alliance with Hiruma, and had under Hiruma's orders cast a spell upon Mamori to rebel and run.

The utter bullshit Hiruma read made him stand up and finally leave the dark little hole he was in. As darkness was creeping in, he knew this was the right time to leave and gather more information. He knew this was a trap, that surely Musashi and Mamori would be able to last on their own, and that surely he needed to focus on other things rather than waste his time worrying over those two.

But he had to be sure.

As he stepped outside, he murmured a spell under his breath, and began walking along the streets, carefully hiding in the shadows that grew larger by the minute. He knew someone out there would definitely be talking about this. Deimon women practically lived on gossip. And he was rewarded in his faith, stopping at one of the corridors when he heard the mention of Mamori's name by two women gossiping in front of a sundry shop.

"But don't you find it odd that the Takekura boy could be involved with Anezaki Mamori's disappearance?" said one woman, who looked the kinder of the two. "He just doesn't seem to be the type..."

"You'd be surprised," replied the other woman, looking oddly stern. "After all, Takekura was a friend of that demon and who knows what Takekura picked up from that evil fiend."

"That may be... but why Mamori of all people?"

"Well, she has always been surrounded by troubled youths and ruffians in her quest for justice, as my daughter used to tell me. I think this is all some sort of revenge to turn her into one of them. It doesn't help that she stayed in the same room as that demon."

"Oh, so that was true! I can't believe the college permitted that!"

"Well, they thought she would be strong enough to withstand it. Now that poor girl has gone and gotten herself badly enchanted," the other woman shook her head in disgust.

"Well, I hope she isn't being tortured. I think I saw Mamori speaking to Takekura a few days before her disappearance and they seemed to get along so well, which is why I found this news surprising..."

"Well, Takekura seems a nice enough boy, though that proved to show we can't judge a book by its cover. Though his other friend, that fat boy... what was his name?"

"Kurita?"

"Kurita, yes. Well, when the police were trying to seize Takekura, that Kurita reacted terribly, tackled a couple of the police straight to the ground. You'd think that would warrant him an arrest as well!"

The kinder woman gasped. "They didn't arrest him?"

"No. It seems Takekura vouched for Kurita and got that fat boy to calm down. But now Takekura carries all the blame and right now he's probably cuffed and heavily guarded in prison. With Mamori gone, and the police assault, not only will his punishment be severe, they may just permanently transfer Takekura away from Deimon and make sure he never returns..."

Hiruma's lips were now pressed thinly against each other and he decided he had heard enough. The conversation turned out to be too useful, so much so he now had to backtrack and rethink his next actions.

As much as he hated to admit it, he knew he could not leave Musashi alone after hearing that. The fucking old man was in too much trouble, and as much as he used to literally abuse his best friends, they had never left his side. And now he realized he shouldn't leave theirs as well.

Why he came to that realization now, after weeks of disappearing, Hiruma wasn't sure. But it was now or never. His initial plan would have to change, and he calculated his risks to have upped considerably. No matter, he grinned to himself. This will just be the right amount of challenge he needed anyways.

The spell he had earlier uttered made it easy for him to keep hidden as he moved from shadow to shadow to the main police station in Deimon, where he felt sure Musashi would be in. By then it was dark, and only streetlights kept the place lit.

The police station was a mere two storey building, and from what he'd heard from all the threats he received back in high school, the jails were in the top floor. He knew cracking in wouldn't be easy, but with everything that he had learnt, he knew he'd have to try someday and now was as good a time as any. He moved quietly into the back alley of the police station and approached the back door.

Once he felt certain that there was no one in the back room, he drew closer to the back door. As he reached out his hand, he suddenly felt another hand bump into his. The darkness made it impossible to see who it was, but he heard a light squeal as they both jumped apart. He also noted that the hand he bumped into was smooth and familiar…

Then it struck him. He could barely see her outline as the only source of light they had was from a lamp post, and it shone at a distance behind her. There was no denying it…

"What the fuck are you doing here?"


	14. Chapter 13

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** As I left you guys in a pretty bad cliffhanger, I did a NaNoWriMo and pretty much wrote the chapter with the aim to get it done without caring too much about the details. Still another cliffhanger ahead but it shouldn't be that bad, I hope. Do let me know if you find any parts of this story off.

And thank you so much to those commenting and supporting this story! I really wasn't expecting much support, considering it's a musical. But I'm glad all the same. A big hug to my best friend for the non-stop poking to get this chapter done.

Song used here is "No Good Deed" from Wicked. Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

* * *

Mamori clenched her fist, though she could not see where he was exactly. "Hiruma..." she whispered, as softly as she could, slowly taking a few steps towards him.

But to Hiruma, he could hear her voice break with emotions, and instantly the memory of hearing her cry when he last left her filled his mind. In anger, whether at her or at himself, he said, "You shouldn't be here... You-"

Mamori suddenly rushed forward and smacked Hiruma at his left temple. She was probably aiming for his cheek but the darkness made it hard for her to aim. "You!" she hissed, anger seething in her voice as Hiruma touched his temple in surprise. "You... you... idiot!"

He could tell Mamori was doing her best to keep as quiet as possible, and was shaking in anger trying to keep her anger as suppressed as possible. "Kekeke, did you feel better after doing that?" he asked.

"No! But you deserved it!" she whispered angrily, hugging herself to keep from shaking. "You... left me! I begged for you to come back and you left me! We were all so worried about you and I... I... we all felt horrible when you left! And now you... standing there! You're such a hypocrite!"

Hiruma smiled softly into the darkness. "You're right... I am a fucking hypocrite," he admitted, a bit too easily. "So what do you want from me? An apology?"

"No, an explanation," said Mamori, as her body slowly began to shake less violently. "I think we deserve the right to know why you left us."

Hiruma looked at her shaking figure, contemplated for a moment, then began to walk towards the back door. "It'd take a while to explain and we don't have the time for that," he said, cocking his head to listen for any signs of other human presences that might be the police. "Right now, we need to bust the fucking old man out."

Mamori was silent for a few moments, but Hiruma heard her take a few deep breaths. "Right," she finally said, approaching him. He noticed she was rubbing her eyes, but by now her shaking had completely stopped. "We need to save Musashi. I've asked around and found out about the layout of this station. I have an idea of how we could go in without attracting too much unwanted attention for a certain amount of time."

Hiruma grinned. Mamori might be emotional, but she knew how to focus and that was good. "Let's hear it then."

Later into the night, the number of policemen dwindled. The atmosphere was relaxed and carefree as though they had nothing to worry about. It was generally a peaceful little town and they were not used to much commotion in the station at night, so when all the lights suddenly went off, chaos broke out among them and most of them fell, tripping over one another in the panic.

The lights came back on just as suddenly and Mamori ran forward, checking on each of the fallen policemen. "That was dangerous! They could have fallen and really injured themselves!" cried Mamori as she got one man to lie on his back.

"Keh, they'll be fine, stop worrying about it," said Hiruma, emerging from another door. "Just checked the circuit box. I have a better idea of how the locks work. None of these guys have access to the top floors, right? Stop fussing about them and come here!"

Mamori pouted, but once she felt certain no one was injured, she followed Hiruma to one of the doors that led to the stairs. It was obviously locked tight but beside it was a panel with numbered buttons. "The policeman who has the key to the top floors has left. For a world that's trying to develop magic, they still depend on machinery like these."

"They're more reliable than magic," explained Hiruma, he nodded at Mamori, who then pulled out a laptop from the big backpack she had been carrying. "What I did to those guys was a huge risk and could've backfired," he said as he pulled out a couple of cords he found around in the room with the circuit box.

Mamori looked at him worriedly as he plugged into the security system and to Mamori's laptop. "You still haven't explained how you're able to do that. It scared me stiff."

Hiruma's expression turned grim as he booted Mamori's laptop and set straight to work. "I told you I had to leave you because I didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. Actually, I left it all to learn all that."

"Learn all..." Mamori whispered. "Hiruma, what do you...?"

"I'm a demon," said Hiruma, in such a matter of fact tone that she thought that he could be joking. Hiruma stopped typing to look at Mamori's expression, which still remained as curious as ever. "Okay, I'm half a demon."

"You're serious," said Mamori, taking in a deep breath. "How did you know this?"

Hiruma went back to work, distracting himself. "That Fucking Mutt actually belonged to my father... my REAL father who was a demon," he said a little too bitterly, but then cackled. "Turns out I didn't get these looks from nowhere."

"How did you know that he was your father?" she asked.

"He kept a fucking journal," he grinned. "Keh, isn't that fucking stupid? A demon keeping a journal? He did it to pen down every single detail of his success in finally gaining enough power to control human beings. Fucker was so proud of every little achievement he had to write it down. Wrote down everything… including his success wooing my mother."

"Your mother?" said Mamori in surprise.

"Yep," said Hiruma nonchalantly, vigorously typing away. "By the way, your laptop sucks. Needs more RAM."

"Stop changing the subject!" cried Mamori, who took another deep breath. Being in this current situation was not doing well to her nerves. "You still haven't explained how you learnt all this."

"Well, it makes sense doesn't it?" said Hiruma calmly as he kept typing. "I figured out that this man was definitely my father, and the reason why I'm able to do magic beyond anyone's fucking ability to comprehend is because of him. Then I saw he had a lot of books on spells he created especially for his own powers. So I decided I had to equip myself and finally learn how to use my own powers..."

"So you locked yourself away," Mamori completed, looking down. "You lied to us because what you did could've been dangerous, and if we knew about this, we might have stopped you..."

Hiruma grinned. "Good to see that you understand that. So now you know why I did it."

Hiruma didn't look inclined to continue, but Mamori knew there was something missing. "Is that all?"

Hiruma raised his eyebrows as he looked at Mamori. "What do you mean?"

Mamori shrugged. "I don't know. I can see why you did it, but I can't help but think you have a bigger reason for why you're doing this. Can't you at least-"

There was the sound of a beep and the door unlocked. Hiruma closed Mamori's laptop and grinned at her, "You shouldn't talk so much, you're so fucking distracting."

Mamori scowled as she walked up the stairs with Hiruma in the lead. "Well, at least your attitude's still pretty much the same. Though..." she hesitated.

It was Hiruma's turn to look curiously at her, although his steps never faltered. "What?"

"I feel as though you're a lot stronger now than before," she finished. "You're a lot more confident and you seem to have better control of your powers. None of the policemen were seriously injured after all. So maybe you leaving might have been a good thing..."

Hiruma stayed silent. It was true, he was more confident and it was good that the spell worked. But it did take a toll on him, and he felt some nausea creeping up on him. He pushed the feeling away, thinking that now Mamori was with him, he had to be extra careful to make sure that she, too, was safe. "You said only the fucking old man is in Deimon's prison?" he asked her.

Mamori nodded. "Almost all of the law breakers that have been caught recently have just been sent to the Zokuto district. They have better facilities there to handle them." They finally reached a door, and realized they had to go down a corridor to get to the next flight of stairs where the prisoners were kept.

As they walked down the corridor with numerous doors on both sides, a thought crossed Mamori's mind. "You can use your powers to unlock these doors, can't you?" she spoke aloud. "Yet you're not... that means you also have a limit to how much magic you can use."

Hiruma grinned, thinking, 'She really is too smart for her own good.' He didn't reply, but Mamori understood perfectly well that what she had said was right.

"I heard you dated that Fucking Dreads when I left," said Hiruma, grinning wickedly as he glanced behind him to where Mamori trailed behind.

Mamori blushed. "It's not what you think! Things were getting weird whenever Agon was around, and then there was something wrong with Suzuna... so I thought that the only way I could get more information was by…" She stopped, not wanting to even mention it.

Hiruma raised his eyebrows, his wicked grin still plastered across his face. "Didn't know you were such a sneaky woman."

"Oh, stop it you!" she replied angrily. "I admit it wasn't the best decision. If possible, I would much rather have been out searching for you."

"Well, that would have been a fucking waste of time," said Hiruma. "You were right to stay behind. I bet those fucking shorties needed you anyways. So let me guess, you left because you couldn't stand that Fucking Dread anymore?"

Mamori nodded. "He was nice to me... but he was terrible to others. I couldn't just stand there and pretend I knew nothing. I had to leave."

"Did you notice anything else strange about him?" he asked her.

It was an odd question that piqued Mamori's curiosity but she knew this wasn't the time or place to question him further. "I did notice that he has this strange habit of keeping one hand in his pocket... I feel as though he's keeping something precious in there, but I'm not sure... Other than that, I know he's hiding a lot of secrets. But even as his girlfriend, he refused to tell me anything."

Hiruma winced a little when Mamori mentioned being HIS, the Fucking Dreads', girlfriend. The image just didn't sit well with him. But he brushed aside his feelings and turned his thoughts on what Mamori had just said, pondering deeply on what that could mean.

They finally found the steps that led to the top floor, and was surprised to find that the door to those steps was not locked. Hiruma knew then that this must be a trap. "There could be an alarm on this," he said.

"It could be triggered once we open the door," said Mamori, as she stood next to Hiruma to inspect the door. "We might be able to hack into this one but I don't know if we could override the alarm system..." Her brow furrowed as she looked at Hiruma askance.

He shook his head. "Demons don't use magic on electronics. They're good at manipulating people and certain elements, but not electronics. I don't know a spell to check for the existence of any alarm, or even if there is, I wouldn't know how to disable it." He calculated the amount of time they had taken and realized that time was definitely running out. "We've got no choice. We have to rush in and bust that Fucking Old Man out."

"But that's dangerous!" cried Mamori.

"Look, either way someone out there will notice that this building has been strangely quiet for too long. We've wasted too much time already," he said, concentrating on the door and recalculating what little time they had with their current plan. "If there is an alarm, we might have enough time to break the fucking old man out. But getting us out might be tricky..."

Mamori looked at him and then at the floor, her heart beating so hard, knowing he was right and there was no other choice. "If that happens..." she said. "Leave it to me."

Hiruma looked at her in surprise. "You... what are you-?"

"There's no time to argue!" She grabbed Hiruma's hand and looked right back at him seriously. "We discussed this earlier, didn't I? That at the last moment to just leave it to me? Look, we have no time!"

Hiruma looked at his hand, barely enclosed in Mamori's small ones. "You'd better not be doing something fucking stupid..." he growled as he held Mamori's hand tightly. Then he looked at the door before them, and opened it.

If there was an alarm, it did not make any noise. But they both knew better than to linger. They quickly ran up the stairs and the moment they reached the corridor, Mamori screamed out, "Musashi! Musashi! Where are you?"

They kept running, and realized that instead of bars, there was nothing but electronically locked doors. Then they heard Musashi call out from down the corridor to their right, "Mamori!"

Two policemen ran up to them, shouting. Hiruma cursed. The radius of his spell didn't extend that far after all. They were shooting directly at Hiruma and Mamori, but Mamori had raised a force field by then and the bullets deflected. Hiruma pulled out his own shotgun and aimed at them, nodding at Mamori to drop the force field. The moment she did, he shot two rounds, shooting both policemen on their right thighs. Mamori cringed at the sound and the sight, but Hiruma grabbed her hand and they ran down the corridor to their right, searching for Musashi.

They heard frantic knocking on one of the doors and knew he was in there. Mamori had pulled out her laptop before they could even stop properly in front of the door. There was a small peeking window at the top of the door, and Musashi's eyes peeked from the other side, looking anxious. "Mamori? What are you... HIRUMA?" he cried when he caught sight of Hiruma's blonde hair.

"Hey, Fucking Old Man..." said Hiruma, grinning as he quickly began to type on the laptop as Mamori plugged the connection to the door's lock. "Miss me?"

"What's going on, Mamori?" Musashi asked, the moment she stood up.

"Calm down, Musashi, we're breaking you out," said Mamori, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Are you two out of your minds? You both could get caught! This could all be a trap!"

"Think we didn't know that by now?" sneered Hiruma, eyes still glued to the laptop.

"You were being transferred away because of us," said Mamori. "And they were accusing you of all these lies. We couldn't just sit back and let that happen!"

Musashi sighed. He wanted to ask them so many things, like how did they find each other, how did they manage to handle the other police without causing a commotion until now. But the both of them were in no state to answer his questions.

There was a click, Mamori pulled the door open and gave Musashi a quick hug. He cringed and groaned a little when she did this, that Mamori pulled away and cried, "You're hurt!"

"Nothing serious," Musashi protested. "I'm not sure what they did to me but I'm pretty drained. We have no time to worry about that. We have to leave now!"

Mamori nodded as they both approached Hiruma. Hiruma collected the laptop and was about to run with them when they heard doors bursting open down one of the corridors. "Oh no..." Mamori whispered. "They're here!"

Hiruma looked at Musashi's prison cell and noted the barred window. He ran towards it and saw there was a tree just near the building. They might be able to escape through that way. He grabbed his shotgun, uttered a spell, and took a shot. The window blasted open.

Mamori jumped when Hiruma took that shot. But when she saw the blasted window, and the tree in the distance, she understood. She grabbed Musashi's hand and urged him back inside. "Quickly, you have to go!"

"The tree is a bit too far below us," explained Hiruma. "It's quite a stretch and-"

"I'll distract them!" Mamori cried, pushing the two of them towards the window. "You both have to leave now!"

"Are you fucking crazy?" cried Hiruma, glaring at her. "They'll catch you and-"

"Even if they do, my punishment won't be as severe as the both of you!" Mamori glared back. "I told you to leave this to me, didn't I? We don't have a choice right now! There was a reason I was looking for you! I knew that as long as you're safe, there might still be a chance to end all this. Please!" She held on to Hiruma's jacket and looked down to hide the tears brimming in her eyes. "Just go! I'll find a way to get back to you, but please!"

Hiruma bit his lip, trying hard to suppress the anger he felt from her words. He grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him. "You are the biggest fucking idiot I have ever met. But if you take your own fucking sweet time, I'll come back and drag you out if I have to."

Mamori's eyes gleamed with hope for a moment, but the sound of the police came closer and she pulled herself away from Hiruma to quickly close the door and set up a shield, barring them out. Barely a few seconds later, there was banging, shooting and knocking on the door and Mamori stood her ground, making sure the shield stayed on. "Go!" she cried.

Hiruma gave one last look at her, and then grabbed Musashi by the wrist. Musashi stared at Mamori with concern. "You're not seriously staying..." he murmured, to which Mamori gave a strained smile.

Before Musashi could say another word, he felt himself being pulled by gravity. Hiruma had jumped and taken Musashi with him. Then he felt the branches and leaves slap him all over his body, but the impact was not as hard as he thought it should be. He heard Hiruma murmuring something and the next thing he knew, they had both fallen on the ground. Musashi felt pain creeping in, but he realized the impact was still not as bad as he had prepared himself for, though he still felt worn.

He checked on Hiruma and noticed that he was breathing hard, sweating and looked sickly. Then Hiruma got up on unsteady feet and urged Musashi to follow him to the back of the station, into the shadows. Once there, Hiruma murmured something again and looked even worst. "What are you doing?" Musashi asked.

"I need to know... where they're taking her..." he whispered.

Musashi opened his mouth, thinking now should be the time to get some answers, when he heard a man shout at a distance, probably the front of the station, "We got the girl! We found her up there!"

"How is she?" cried another man.

"Weak and pretty worn down. Looks like she really has been enchanted."

"How about the prisoner?"

"Gone. Probably with the demon."

"Dammit."

"What do we do with the girl?"

"We received orders to take her to Amino to be studied and freed from this enchantment. Whatever she says, don't believe her. We don't know if she's still under that demon's control. If she continues to display signs of being under control, she may be locked up and tortured to help free her from that spell."

"Tortured?" gasped Musashi. Then he realized that they did the same thing to him too... "Hiruma, this isn't good. They might just..."

Hiruma got up and grabbed Musashi's wrist again, and was dragging him so fast that everything around him seem to blur. Be it from how weak he was, Musashi wasn't sure, but the next thing he knew, he was in front of a dark looming house and felt his wrist freed. Catching a glimpse of Hiruma rushing into it, Musashi followed suit and noticed he had gone to the basement. Hiruma had grabbed a book and was flipping through the pages, looking panicked and very unwell. He then stopped at one page, and began to mutter out loud.

**[Hiruma]**  
_Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen  
Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen_

_Let her flesh not be torn  
Let her blood leave no stain  
If they beat her  
May she feel no pain  
Let her bones never break  
And however they try  
To destroy her  
Let her never die  
Let her never die_

_Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen  
Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka... eleka..._ URGH!

_What good is this chanting?  
I don't even know what I'm reading!  
I don't even know what trick I ought to try  
Mamori, where are you?  
Are you in pain or bleeding?  
One more disaster I can add to my  
Generous supply!_

Musashi watched in surprise as Hiruma slammed the book shut in anger, looking clearly disturbed

**[Hiruma]** (eyes darkened)  
_No good deed goes unpunished  
No act of charity goes unresented  
No good deed goes unpunished  
That's my new creed  
My road of good intentions  
Led where such roads always lead  
No good deed  
Goes unpunished!_

Hiruma placed one hand over his eyes, trying to remain calm as Musashi slowly approached him.

**[Hiruma]**  
_Mother...  
Please, forgive me too  
Mamori...  
MAMORI!_

"Hiruma, stay calm," said Musashi, placing a hand on Hiruma's shoulder. "You did your best, there was nothing you could..."

Hiruma moved away from him.

**[Hiruma]**  
_One question haunts and hurts  
Too much, too much to mention  
Was I really seeking good  
Or just seeking attention?  
Is that all good deeds are  
When looked at with an ice-cold eye?  
If that's all good deeds are  
Maybe that's the reason why_

There was suddenly a demonic grin on Hiruma's face as he felt certain of what all this meant now. There was no denying who he is, no hiding in the shadows no longer. Musashi watched in horror as a dark aura clouded Hiruma.

**[Hiruma]**  
_No good deed goes unpunished  
All helpful urges should be circumvented  
No good deed goes unpunished  
Sure, I meant well,  
Well, look at what well-meant did!  
All right, enough!  
So be it  
So be it, then  
Let all Deimon be agreed  
I'm wicked through and through  
If I can not succeed  
Mamori, saving you  
I promise no good deed  
Will I attempt to do again  
Ever again  
No good deed  
Will I do again!_

_

* * *

_

**Extra Notes:** Just in case some of you found the musical part confusing, let me explain. Hiruma goes a little maniacal here as he comes to realize that no matter what he does, someone around him will get hurt. Thus he's decided that instead of worrying about others, he'll just take matters into his own hands. Hope that helps!


	15. Chapter 14

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Ibby pointed out something pretty interesting in her comment on the last chapter. All I can say is that thanks to her knowledge of the Musical, she pretty much pointed out a possibility that will be happening in the next chapter. XD

Short chapter ahead. Had a hard time planning and writing this as I struggled with how to write the conversations here, as well as getting the different perspectives right. This needed to be set up right because the next chapter's going to be crazy. So let me know if any part seems off, or doesn't quite link. Thanks!

Huggles to my best friend for taking her time to go through this and point out any parts that seem off. ^^

* * *

Classes always made everyone feel a lot more restless lately, what with everything that had happened. Suzuna sighed as she closed her books the moment the class was over, unable to absorb anything that had just been said. Most of the students were not interested in learning anymore, not after hearing about Musashi's escape from prison, Mamori being detained and Hiruma being the bane behind it all. No one felt safe until Hiruma was locked up tight, unable to do anymore harm or cause more trouble.

Although she'd seen it coming, the news of Mamori being detained bothered Suzuna. She fervently held on to the hope that in time, the authorities would realize that Mamori meant well and was truly not under any form of spell. Soon, she hoped, Mamo-nee would be back in this college in no time.

But try as she might to believe in that thought; something nagged in Suzuna's mind that she couldn't shake off. Was it Sena? She bit her lip. Yes, she missed Sena more than she cared to admit. She hasn't seen him in a while, not even at Football practice where he often stayed behind to help out.

She heaved a sigh, trying to comfort herself with the thoughts of 'This is for the best'.

As she stepped out of class, she heard a few of the cheerleaders talking and giggling in their usual huddles. Suzuna tried to suppress another sigh, thinking they must surely be gossiping, feeling rather tired of the entire scenario. But she approached them anyway, meaning to at least greet them when she heard one of them say, "I heard they don't believe a word she's saying and are putting her through some really rough experiments to help cure her. And even after all that, she still insists she's not under that demon's spell and that... get this... the demon is innocent!"

The other cheerleaders burst into merciless laughter, and giggled at this notion. One of them asked, "What kind of experiments though?" And tacked on maliciously, "The kinds that hurt?"

The cheerleader shrugged. "Dunno. But I heard that these experiments can drive a person insane!"

"Serves her right then!" said another cheerleader. "Thinking she could come up here, be one of us and be Agon's girlfriend. Even though she abandoned him, Agon still talks about how much he misses her..."

"She's so plain and ugly; I really don't know what Agon sees in her."

"But I heard he's visiting her tonight..."

There was a short silence, before one of them said, "So I guess he's doing that tonight then..."

Suzuna's eyes widened. She quickly hid herself in another corridor before the girls could notice her presence near them. Her heart was beating really fast now, as she finally remembered what made Mamori's escape completely dreadful in the beginning. Once she was sure that the cheerleaders were too far to hear her, she ran out of Deimon's campus and headed straight to Amino.

...

Mamori gasped. She felt as though she had just fallen from a tall building and landed where she was now. Her body felt numb, but the moment she began to regain more of her consciousness, the pain seeped in too and she moaned.

What they did to her, she couldn't remember. She couldn't even remember what she had just dreamt. All she remembered was Hiruma and Musashi jumping out of the window, and the door behind her crashing down on her knocking her unconscious. She remembered voices, talking and her throat ached. Had she been shouting? She opened her eyes and saw only darkness. Why must it always be dark? She leaned to her left and tried to get up, her body screaming in pain, but she placed her hand wrongly and she found herself falling again, though she landed quickly on the cold floor.

"Oh!" she heard a female voice cry. There was a click and a lamp shone in the corner of the small room. A girl, probably around her age, ran up to her and held Mamori's shoulders, propping her up in a sitting position. "Are you all right? You shouldn't move!"

She made Mamori lean on what she presumed was her bed, and then left her to get some water. The girl pressed a cup to Mamori's lips and she swallowed slowly, the cool water calming her burning throat. Once she'd had her fill, Mamori took a few more deep breaths before asking, "Where am I?"

The girl stroked Mamori's arm. "You're in Amino Labs..." Then she hesitated, cutting herself off. "Come on, you need to get back on your bed."

Mamori nodded and allowed the girl hold her arm as she tried to stand up, her knees constantly giving way. At last, she got on her bed and was about to lie down when she finally managed to take a good look at the girl who had just helped her.

"Karin?" cried Mamori.

Karin blinked. "You know me?"

"Y-yes! I mean... no, not personally, but..." Mamori blinked, still feeling drowsy. She rested her head on her hands. "I'm sorry... I'm just so tired."

Karin smiled knowingly. She sat on her bed, the one with the lamp and their only source of light, by her bedside. Mamori looked around and found the place too small, and cold with metal walls. Her eyes rested on Karin, who was smiling at Mamori kindly. "You really should lie down, you look exhausted."

Mamori shook her head. "I'm fine..." she said, thinking there was no time to just be lying around. "I'm Mamori, by the way. Anezaki Mamori. Sorry for scaring you like that."

"No, no, I wasn't scared at all," said Karin. "It's all right, Mamori. I was just really worried because you look like you were going to hurt yourself. Not a very common reaction, I admit, but I guess it must have been really painful for you."

Mamori stared at Karin in surprise. "How did you know-?"

"That you were in pain?" Karin smiled sadly. "Because I went through the same thing too."

"But..." Mamori hesitated. "Why? What did you do? You don't look like you did anything wrong..."

Karin looked down solemnly, the smile still transfixed on her face. "It's not what I did, it's what I possess. Or at least I used to possess it, but it's gone for years now."

"And they're trying to bring it back? Why would anyone want to..." Mamori stopped as she suddenly took notice of what Karin was wearing. It was a white, short sleeved dress that reached just above her knees, and to Mamori's surprise... she was wearing the same thing. Then it occurred to her... "Karin... what kind of powers do you possess?"

Karin shrugged a little, then looked up at Mamori with a more genuine smile and said, "I used to have celestial powers."

Mamori's head was throbbing by now. The urge to lie down grew, but she couldn't get herself to. Something kept her glued to where she was, and she was instead filled with questions. "Used to?"

Karin nodded. "When I was small I had the ability to heal minor cuts and wounds… but it scared everyone around me, and so I stopped. As time went by, I had forgotten how to use magic and went back to just being a regular girl."

"Then why do they still need you?" asked Mamori, referring to the people who had detained both of them.

Karin shrugged again as she started stroking her long braided hair hanging over her right shoulder. "I'm not quite sure. They're trying to make me remember how to use that power, or just awaken any forms of celestial powers within me... just in case something went wrong for another project, I think."

Mamori stared at Karin, her eyes wide. "What project? Do you know what they are referring to?"

Karin shook her head. "Whatever it is, I know it's not really me they're after... it's..." Karin suddenly gasped and looked at Mamori. "Wait, you have celestial powers, don't you? And they're active?"

"W-what? Y-yes... I was using my powers before I came here... Wait!" Mamori got up shakily, remembering what Yukimitsu had told her before Agon's party, about Agon being interested in someone with celestial powers. "They're actually after me for that project! Of course! And if they're after me that will mean Agon is involved!"

"Agon?" Karin blinked but slowly got up and walked towards Mamori. "You mean Unsui's twin brother?"

"Yes! Oh, it was Unsui who told me about you," Mamori quickly added. "He's so worried about you and suspected Agon might be behind your disappearance..."

"Unsui..." whispered Karin, smiling a little. Then she gave a light gasp. "Hold on... you might be right! I spoke to Agon about how I used to have the power to heal but lost it! But why does he need us?"

"He needs you because you're the next person he knows with celestial powers… and as you can't use your powers, you were kidnapped first so that the people here can try and awaken those powers. I'm what he's really after. He tried to keep me wrapped around his finger by making me his girlfriend..."

"You were his girlfriend?"

"Long story... He made me his girlfriend so that when the time came and he needed the celestial powers, I would give them to him. But then I ran away..." Mamori bit her lip, realizing how heavy the consequences were for running away. "He must have made sure Musashi got thrown into prison not to capture Hiruma... but to capture me... and I fell for that trap!"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and both girls stood frozen looking at it. "W-who's there?" asked Karin.

A feminine voice whispered hastily from the back of the door. "Mamo-nee! Are you in there?"

...

Sena sighed as he handed a banana to Monta, who ate it happily enough and seemed oblivious to Sena's distraught features. Despite the obvious fact that Monta really did recognize Sena, the lack of communication made it hard for Sena to feel as though his best friend was just right before him. He had been visiting Monta every day since he found out from Yukimitsu, looking for some form of comfort with nowhere else to go.

"No news about Musashi or Mamori, I'm afraid," said Yukimitsu as he entered the room where Sena and Monta were. "Even though the newspapers reported Mamori going to Amino, none of my classmates or colleagues has any clue on her whereabouts. Something is definitely wrong right now… Have you heard anything from Kurita?"

"He's still locked up in his dorm, refusing to come out," said Sena, looking down. "He blames himself for that happened to Musashi, and wishes he had protected him better. If he knows about Mamori, he will surely take the blame for that, too."

Yukimitsu sighed and slumped down next to Sena on the couch. They watched Monta for a moment who was now done with the banana and was looking at them, interest sparked in his eyes the moment they mentioned Mamori's name.

"Things don't look good at all right now," said Yukimitsu. "Everyone in Deimon is restless with the thought of Hiruma still out there. I heard they're planning to rally up and do and all out search of their own if the authorities don't capture him anytime soon…"

Sena nodded, and then he heard his phone ring. "Ah! Who could be calling...?" he said pulling his phone from his pocket, and to his surprise, saw Suzuna's number flashing on the screen. "No way..." he whispered before quickly pressing the green button. "Hello?"

"Sena!" he heard Suzuna whisper hastily. "Sena, thank goodness you answered. There's no time to explain, come down to the Amino College, look for a white building behind the college with red doors. Just come quick and call for help! Mamo-nee is..."

Then Sena heard other voices murmuring in the background, there was a loud noise as Suzuna's phone fell to the ground and he heard Suzuna scream, "No! Let go of me! Stop it!"

And then he heard Mamori's voice cry out loud, "Don't hurt her! Please, just don't hurt her!"

There was the sound of a loud crunch, and Sena heard no more. He looked at Yukimitsu, who looked confused by Sena's sudden change of expression. "Is something wrong?" asked Yukimitsu.

Sena got up. "Drive down to Amino College and look for a white building with red doors, I'll meet you there." With that, he walked purposefully out of Yukimitsu's apartment.

"What? Sena, wait! What's going on?" asked Yukimitsu, but it was too late. Sena had zoomed off.

...

Musashi groaned a little as he brushed his hand through his hair. He had fallen asleep in one of the bedrooms that were available in this house after being completely worn out the night before. Now Hiruma had disappeared from the house. The dog, Cerberus, who had left him some food earlier, was also missing.

Even though Hiruma had explained everything that had happened in relation to who Hiruma really was and how he met up with Mamori just before breaking him out, Musashi still felt as though Hiruma was hiding something from him. Just as he decided to give up and get some more rest, he heard the door slam open.

Musashi quickly ran to check, though he knew from the sound of the footsteps it was Hiruma who had rushed down the basement. "Where were you?" he asked as he followed Hiruma, who was now flipping through the huge book of spells.

"Getting information," Hiruma replied, without looking at him.

"You're looking for Mamori, aren't you?" asked Musashi. "Did you get some rest, you look-"

"The Fucking Mutt has a lead to where she is. I'm going there right now." After taking one last glance at the book, he promptly left the basement. Musashi sighed as he chased after Hiruma.

"You can't do this alone," said Musashi.

"No, stay here," said Hiruma reaching the door where Cerberus waited. "Got my hands full if I have to fucking babysit you too. It's easier to cast spells on myself than on others. Just watch out for anything suspicious."

Musashi watched as Cerberus trotted off and Hiruma blended into the evening shadows. Even though he could not be a part of it, Musashi could tell something big was about to happen. Determined to not just sit around and let things be, he set off to look for a public phone.


	16. Chapter 15

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** I'm on a roll, I think. I'm already working on the next chapter for this cause OMG, things are going to be insane till the end of this story now.

First off, I apologize to all you Hiruma fans, cause I decided to leave him out of this chapter *hides*. But this way, it will help make the next chapter a lot more Hiruma centric, and this chapter wouldn't be too long. So err... do be patient?

Anyways, enjoy. Things get kinda insane here.

* * *

Mamori reeled in shock for a moment at the voice that replied from behind the door. "Suzuna?" she cried as she knelt by the door to hear better, Karin just behind her. "Suzuna, is that really you?"

"Mamo-nee! Oh, thank goodness I found you!" cried Suzuna, letting out a sigh of relief. "Hold on, I'm going to break you out!"

"Suzuna, what are you doing here? It's dangerous!" chastised Mamori, remembering what happened when she and Hiruma tried to break Musashi out.

"I know, but I can't leave you here! Mamo-nee, you're in so much danger right now!" The scrape of metal against metal told Mamori that Suzuna was trying to break the lock with something sharp.

"Suzuna? Are you trying to break the lock? You shouldn't do that! It might trigger an alarm!"

"Mamo-nee, I don't know what to do!" Suzuna cried, clearly in tears. "Listen to me, Mamo-nee! Agon is after you, he's going to use you to gain more power!"

"Power? But... How? What kind of powers does he have, Suzuna?"

Suzuna carried on trying to break the lock. "I don't know, but it's powerful! I haven't seen it, but he's the one who transformed the boy into a gorilla, and Monta into a monkey!"

Mamori and Karin gasped. "But that's impossible!" cried Mamori. "I suspected something, but no boy our age could be that powerful!"

"You don't know him, Mamo-nee!" Suzuna replied. "He possesses something that's beyond anyone's understanding, and I'm sure he can do more than just turn people into animals! Whatever it is, because you ran away Agon will probably hurt you a lot more than he planned now! I've got to break you out!"

"Suzuna..." Mamori whispered, smiling a little. But her smile soon faded when she heard men's voices from the distance and Suzuna gasped.

"Mamo-nee, someone's coming!"

"Just run, Suzuna! Don't get yourself caught!" Mamori pressed her ear against the metal door and listened as Suzuna's quick footsteps faded away while the men's voices grew louder.

"As long as we don't rush this, we should be okay..." she heard a familiar male voice say. "Of course, we still need to take all the necessary precautions as anything is possible at this point. We've reached an amazing stage in the advancement of magical use. We could be making history!"

"Hold on, doesn't the lock look badly tampered?" another unfamiliar voice interjected.

Mamori inhaled sharply, trying to calm herself down. She grabbed Karin's hand and silently urged her to stay behind the door and remain calm. But the voices continued speaking out loud.

"Someone has been trying to break them out. Quick, call security! Look around and be careful, the culprit might still be nearby… In the meantime, open the door, take the girls out."

The door opened and Mamori was visited by the sight of Munakata. "You..." Mamori whispered, utterly disgusted. "How could you..."

Munakata ignored her and urged two other men who wore lab coats to chain both Mamori's and Karin's hands and lead them out the door.

"I found the culprit! It's... a cheerleader!" cried a man's voice from down a corridor.

Mamori gasped as she heard Suzuna scream. There was the sound of a struggle as Suzuna cried out, "No! Let go of me! Stop it!"

"Don't hurt her!" cried Mamori, as she saw Suzuna being dragged forcefully across the floor as another man attempted to grab her tiny waist and lift her to keep her from resisting. "Please, just don't hurt her!"

Suzuna screamed when the man finally lifted grabbed her by the waist and now tried to hoist her over his shoulder, but she continued struggling making it harder to hold her still. The man raised his fist, obviously meaning to knock her out.

When Mamori saw this, her eyes gleamed menacingly. Munakata noticed her eyes and panicked. "Stop, she's going to use her powers!"

"I really don't suggest doing that, ex-girlfriend..." Mamori heard another familiar voice say. She felt the air stand still as she turned to see Agon, looking very unhappy at the sight before him.

"Agon..." said Mamori, but anger filled her once again. "Hurt her and I swear-"

Agon raised his hand, signaling Mamori to be quiet. He turned to the man holding Suzuna. "Don't injure her but throw her out right now. I don't want her to be anywhere near here." And then he looked straight at Suzuna. "Don't expect me to go easy on you the next time I see you... or your boyfriend."

"I'm not afraid of you anymore!" cried Suzuna. "I'm tired of you threatening to hurt the people that I care about!"

"And I'm sure you can do something about that eh, tiny little trash?" laughed Agon. He looked at the man. "Get rid of her. Munakata, take the girls to the room now. I'm losing my patience." With that Agon, walked away.

"Mamo-nee! Mamo-nee!" Suzuna screamed as she tried to struggle free.

"Suzuna!" cried Mamori, but they'd already dragged Suzuna as Mamori and Karin were pushed in another direction. Mamori was shaking by now, but she wasn't sure if it was out of fear or anger at her current situation.

"Mamori...," whispered Karin. She wanted to say something comforting, but she knew as well that there was no way to find comfort right now.

They then entered a white room with a few tables and chairs around the sides that looked as if they had been haphazardly pushed out of the way to clear out a wide space in the middle of the room. Within that space, someone had scrawled a circle of writing on the floor. The moment they walked in, the men shoved Mamori towards the middle of the room and made her stand at the center of that circle while they forced Karin onto one of the chairs, far away from Mamori. In a position to examine the words properly, Mamori tried to read at least some of it and realized the writing was completely foreign to her. Agon entered the room now, looking smugger than ever. Karin's eyes widened, even though Mamori had forewarned her of Agon's involvement in all this the shock and hurt of it all came rushing in at once at the sight of him. "Agon! You cowardly bastard!" she spat.

Agon barely cast a glance at her. "Just wait your turn, trash." Instead, he moved purposefully toward Mamori, a merciless smile widening on his features.

"Welcome back, Mamori," said Agon. "Good to see you're looking great, as always."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Mamori, unable to hold back her desperation to find out what was happening. "Why did you do those things to that boy? To Monta? What do you want from me?"

"Ah, slowly now..." Agon smirked, obviously enjoying Mamori's confusion. He stood just outside the circle, standing right before her. "I do hope you've realized by now that your running away has just made things a lot worse than they should be."

"Well, I wasn't going to stay around and continue playing girlfriend to you after what you did to Monta," Mamori near spat at him. "You may have been drunk but I saw the real you that night. I saw what everyone in that school really was and I wanted no part of it anymore."

"Ah, but look at what's happened now? That Musashi is now a convicted traitor, his case looks even worst now since you and that demon tried to break him out. And that puny little trash just now? Oh, don't look at me like that. I won't hurt her. But I did warn her about what would happen if she didn't listen to me, and I can't go against my words, can I? That wouldn't be right now would it...?"

"What do you want from me?" asked Mamori, her voice quavering ever so slightly. "Why me? Out of everyone you saw in college?"

"When I saw you, I must admit, I thought you were the kind of girl that was intriguing, but also very annoying. I had this desire to break you, and make you mine. But lo and behold, you possess much more than a fiery spirit I wanted to break, you possess... celestial powers."

"How did you know that?"

He stared at her for a long moment, taking in her anxiety and enjoying it. "Wouldn't you like to know... I should make you beg but I suppose you're cowed enough, dearest ex-girlfriend." Then Agon grinned as he put his right hand into his right pocket, and pulled out a blood red pendant, hanging from a chain. "This."

Mamori stared at the pendant and for the first time, felt a chill run down her spine. The pendant emitted such a strong and dark aura that Mamori had never felt before. "W-what is that?"

"This lovely little thing is the source of what made me come this far," explained Agon, eyeing the pendant. "I found this off some trash on the street a few years ago and I knew it had purposefully chosen me to posses it. I understood its powers and possibilities almost instantly, and I knew I had to gain full control of it. So I quit football and decided to experiment with it more... by going to Deimon College."

Agon paused and eyed Mamori, and Mamori knew he wanted her to continue asking him questions. Disgusted, but unable to hide her curiosity, she asked. "Then... why Deimon?"

With a self-satisfied smile, he continued, "Because I heard very interesting things about Deimon. Deimon, the city as a whole, was an unknown place before, totally unworthy of attention. When suddenly a high school football team from Deimon appeared and was slowly gaining not only in terms of popularity, but number of wins. Of course I'm pretty sure I could crush them if I wanted to. But in the end, I heard they were forced to disband due to the fact that they were gaining magical powers... not just one member, but almost the whole team! Deimon seems to be slowly gaining some form of powers, so I came to investigate it myself by attending the college here. I was right," Agon laughed. "There must be something in the air here. I feel so much more powerful here, and then this!" He raised the pendant, staring at it almost obsessively. "This kept glowing whenever you were around!'

Mamori blinked in surprise. "Is that how you knew I had celestial powers?"

"Well I still wanted to be sure so I had that puny trash take a sample of your blood to confirm it with Munakata. And still you care for her... how foolish. But the pendant was right..." Agon grinned widely. "You're exactly what I'm looking for."

Mamori shook her head, eyeing Agon suspiciously. "I don't get what you mean..."

Agon's grin stayed on as he began to circle around Mamori. "I suppose it's time I tell you the real reason why I've been after you all this while? Very well then... This pendant has all the powers a man could ever desire, but it has one fatal flaw." Agon stopped and suddenly turned to look straight into Mamori's eyes, the grin now gone from his face only to be replaced with a serious look, a hungry gleam in his eyes. "If I try to over exert this power, it will consume and destroy me." Agon grinned again. "Now we don't want that do we? No, what I need... is a shield, a barrier of protection to help control the flow of magic and keep it from consuming me."

Karin let out a gasp of surprise at this and Mamori herself was shaken by the new knowledge. "A shield?" she cried. "Against magic? But my powers aren't that strong!"

"They aren't now... which is why I had Munakata conduct some experiments that would help release that dormant power within you to make it strong enough for me to reach my one aim."

"Full control over that pendant?", Mamori asked, her body gone limp with shock.

"Oh, a lot more than that..." Agon grinned. "But I'm tired of waiting, and your running away has tested my patience long enough. In fact, it's given me an idea of something I've been meaning to try for a while now. Let's see how strong this pendant is and how powerful you have become... by trying to control you."

Karin panicked and rose from her seat, but she was quickly pushed down by one of the men. "You're insane! She's only been here barely a day! You could kill her!"

"Ah, and that's where YOU come in," said Agon, finally acknowledging Karin. "Your powers are definitely weaker in comparison, but surely Munakata would have gained enough data from Mamori's celestial powers by then to reawaken those dormant powers within you."

"But you could still injure her!" cried Karin. "Why can't you just use me first-"

Karin was cut off when Mamori shook her head at Karin. "It's fine, Karin. My powers are still stronger than yours. Let him do what he wants. It's me he wants after all..." Gazing defiantly up at him, "And I suppose this is punishment for the way I broke up with you?"

"This is why you fascinate me, Mamori," said Agon. "You read your situations so well. Your actions, however, still need work. Now..." Agon nodded at Munakata who proceeded to one of the nearby computers. "Let's see if you're as strong as you claim to be."

Agon raised the pendant, and the computers hummed louder in her ears. The pendant glowed fiery red and the circle of words beneath her glowed the same way. Mamori could feel a strange aura around her, threatening to overpower her. For a moment, she forgot where she was, and what was going on. Everything she saw was white, and there was nothing but that dark presence surrounding her. Then her heart felt like it was on fire and she panicked. Whatever this thing was, whatever was surrounding her and trying to claim her, it would control her and hurt her if it succeeded.

The moment she felt as though she was about to lose consciousness, she felt her hands clasp together in prayer and suddenly, she was back to where she was, except everyone was on the ground as though they were knocked unconscious.

Mamori blinked repeatedly to be sure that what she saw was real. Agon, Munakata and almost everyone was on the floor, groaning in pain. Karin, too, was slumped on her seat, but she was regaining consciousness quicker than the others. Noticing that there was no one to stop them now, Mamori quickly ran up to Karin. "Karin, are you okay? Can you get up?"

Karin groaned a little. "What just happened? This red light surrounded you and suddenly-"

"There's no time to think about that! Now's the time to run!" cried Mamori. Though their hands were still chained up, Mamori grabbed Karin's arm, pulled her up and they both ran out of the room.

By then Agon was conscious and he bellowed in anger. "NO! STOP HER!"

Mamori was about to reach the stairs down, but panicked when she heard footsteps rushing up. She knew she had no choice. She held Karin's hands tightly, and they ran upstairs instead.

No matter how much Suzuna kicked and screamed, the men holding her would not let her go. Even when they were outside the building, she thought they would at least put her down and make sure she was locked out, unable to get in. Instead, they held on to her even as they marched out of the building. "LET ME GO!" Suzuna screamed. "SOMEONE, HELP ME!"

"Keep her down, she'll attract attention!" said one of the men.

"I ain't got nothing on me to tape her mouth shut! We've just gotta knock her unconscious!"

"We were told not to harm her!"

"Who gives a shit, it's either we knock her out or we get caught!" He whispered angrily and raised his fist to strike Suzuna. She knew there was no time to scream, so she closed her eyes tight, waiting for the impact…

But she heard the man cry in pain instead, and she felt herself falling to the ground. Before her body hit the ground, something or someone had caught her, and she found herself zooming away. Suzuna opened her eyes and nearly sobbed in relief when she found herself in Sena's arms.

Sena stopped at some nearby trees, and helped Suzuna to her feet. "Did they hurt you?" he asked her.

Suzuna shook her head. Sena smiled a little, "That's good. Now stay here, I gotta make sure those guys don't cause anymore trouble." Sena bent down and picked up a branch, tested its sturdiness, then zoomed off.

Before anyone could blink, there was only a shout of surprise before each one of the men fell unconscious to the ground. Sena zoomed back to Suzuna, but he stood before her hesitantly, keeping his distance. "I... guess that's the advantage of being fast at night," he joked, laughing a little awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Well, I guess we should go look for Mamori now-"

"I'm sorry!"

Sena looked at Suzuna carefully, and saw that tears were streaming down her face. "Suzuna?"

"I'm sorry that I hurt you! I didn't want to break up with you but Agon..." Suzuna sobbed as she lost control of her voice. "He said he was going to hurt you and I couldn't bear to see that happen! And I knew I couldn't escape no matter what I did, so I stayed on thinking I could at least keep you from getting involved in this and that you'd be safe! But I still had to hurt you and-" Suzuna suddenly felt a pair of arms circle around her, and she was locked in a tight embrace.

"I don't blame you one bit," whispered Sena, unable to hide the joy in his voice. "I'm just so glad you're all right. Though I still would have preferred you telling me the truth."

"I wanted to!" Suzuna sobbed into Sena's shoulder. "But I was scared, and everyone around me, the cheerleaders, told me to listen to Agon..."

"Ssh, it's all right," said Sena. "Like I said, I don't blame you. I've been watching you since High School, remember? I knew you always had people around you, but you always seemed so lonely and did your best to depend on only yourself. It was just a moment of weakness, Suzuna... you shouldn't blame yourself. Just... trust me, next time? I have a feeling it might save us a lot of trouble," he grinned.

Suzuna laughed and cried at the same time. "I love you, Sena."

Sena held her even tighter. "I love you, too."

A voice suddenly rang out from the top of the building, "THERE THEY ARE!" Sena and Suzuna broke apart, and ran to have a look at the roof of the building.

They both gasped when they saw Mamori and Karin standing at the edge of the roof. "MAMO-NEE!" Suzuna screamed.

Mamori knew it was a bad idea to have run all the way to the top. But they were chased all the way before she had realized where she was. Karin was gasping next to her, tired and out of breath despite finally being outside and breathing the cold night air. Mamori heard the men coming closer, and calling others, making sure everyone knew where Mamori and Karin were. She hesitated, but she ran close to the edge of the roof, and held up a force field to stop the men from coming any closer.

Yet they still advanced, beating against the force field and slowly pushing her back. There seemed to be no solution to her current situation. She heard Suzuna scream her name from below and her concentration had wavered the second she averted her eyes to look for Suzuna.

Before she even realized what was going on, both she and Karin were pushed off the roof as the men rushed forward, and they were falling. Mamori heard Karin scream. She quickly grabbed Karin's hands, and once the sensation of falling sank in, everything went black for Mamori.


	17. Chapter 16

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** I'm seriously at awe at how far I've come with this story. I was just talking to my best friend about how I never expected to actually work on this story at this pace, and have so many people actually like this. Honestly, I didn't expect this at all. So thank you so much for the amazing support so far. You guys are the reason why I've been able to work on this story at this pace.

2 more chapters and an epilogue, guys. Yes, we're this close to the end of this fic. I hope you've been enjoying the story so far. There's still a few plot holes but they WILL get plugged in the last few chapters. Much love to my best friend for her constant support and for editing this chapter. ^^

Song used in this chapter is "For Good" from Wicked. Prepare for a little dose of OOC and cheesiness. Enjoy and thank you for the support again!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

* * *

Monta let out a high pitched shriek in the back of Yukimitsu's car as Yukimitsu accidentally took a curb too sharply. "Sorry!" cried Yukimitsu as he regained control of his car. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

Not long after Sena's unexplained rushing off after briefly telling him where to go, Yukimitsu called one of his colleagues to confirm whether something suspicious was going on. At first his colleague claimed nothing was going on in there… until, at Yukimitsu's insistence, he discovered a notice warning unauthorized members against entering the building Sena mentioned. His colleague also noted that neither he nor Yukimitsu were allowed access.

This was enough to confirm that something strange was definitely happening at Amino, something he should have known a long time ago, but also dreaded at the same time. He sped up and was about to reach the building when a bright light flashed near the building, causing him to hit the brakes suddenly. The car lurched to a stop and Monta was screaming at the back of the car, pointing at the side of the building, where the source of the light couldn't be seen.

Yukimitsu's jaw dropped.

Karin blinked, confused. Everything happened so quickly that she wasn't even sure if she were alive or dead now. She remembered screaming as she felt herself being pushed off the roof, and also remembered Mamori holding on to her. Just as she thought they were gaining momentum, speeding towards the ground, there was a bright flash and suddenly, they stopped in midair.

For a moment, Karin thought that Mamori had managed to hold on to the ledge of the building and stopped them from falling but quickly came to the realization that both Mamori's hands were still chained and holding on to her, and the building was about a meter away from them. She then looked up, and noticed that Mamori was the source of the light, and that was when everything that had happened dawned on her and the reason they were both alive now was, Mamori…

She had wings. Bright, big wings that beat softly, keeping the both of them from falling.

"Mamori?" cried Karin. "Mamori, what's going on?"

But Mamori's eyes looked dead and she wasn't responding, though her face showed obvious signs of strain. Mamori held on to Karin tightly as her wings continued to beat softly, bringing them to a nearby tree. Karin heard screams and cries of surprise growing beneath her, especially coming from a particular girl who kept screaming for Mamori.

They were closer to the tree now and Karin understood that Mamori had brought her there to hold on to the tree. The moment both of Karin's feet landed safely and securely on one of the trees' big branches, Mamori's grip began to loosen and she seemed to be moving further away from her. "Wait!" cried Karin, as she tried to regain Mamori's hands. "You'll fall!"

But it was too late. The moment Mamori pulled her hands away from Karin, all her powers seemed to dry up, and her wings disappeared. Karin watched in horror as Mamori fell through the trees like a thrown ragdoll. "MAMORI!" she screamed.

"MAMO-NEE!" Suzuna screamed in terror at the sight of Mamori falling. Sena was about to zoom forward when he saw a dark shadow speed past him and Suzuna towards Mamori. It stopped right beneath Mamori, looking as if it might break her fall, yet just as Mamori was about to hit the ground, the shadow grew and seemed to engulf Mamori. Both Sena and Suzuna gasped at the sight.

The shadow soon dissolved to reveal Hiruma, kneeling with Mamori in his arms. "Hiruma?" cried Sena. But Hiruma was oblivious to Sena or Suzuna as they rushed forward.

As he held her, Hiruma noticed that Mamori's body was oddly cold, and there was a strange aura lingering around her. From everything he had seen happen to Mamori, he knew something had just gone horribly wrong. Mamori should not have been able to fly. Even if she did have celestial powers, what she had just done had been at enormous risk, especially to herself.

Sena and Suzuna were just behind him now. "Is she hurt?" asked Sena.

"She looks so pale!" cried Suzuna, panicking.

Yukimitsu was running towards them now. Every bit of shock he'd felt when he saw Mamori airborne with wings dissipated when he saw her fall, his body ceased to be frozen as he ran instinctively to where they were now. "Sena! Thank goodness I found you. Ah…" He looked at Hiruma, and then saw Mamori. Cautiously, he went forward and took Mamori's wrist, and sucked in his breath. "Her heartbeat's slow. It's amazing that she managed to exert so much power. Something like that would normally kill-"

Hiruma glared at Yukimitsu, stopping his deduction mid-sentence. By now, Karin had climbed down the tree and was running towards them. There were voices coming from the building, and even more voices from the nearby college. Hiruma knew that they all must have seen Mamori, and wanted to investigate what had happened. As much as he hated to admit it, there was no time to hang around and investigate what had just happened. They had to run.

"Fucking baldy," said Hiruma. "Get those two Fucking Shorties and that girl into your car, bring the dog with you, he'll show you where to go..." He pointed at Cerberus who growled at Yukimitsu.

Yukimitsu jumped and panicked a little. "Are you sure that's a good idea? What about you and..." he cut himself short again as Hiruma glared at him oddly. And that was when he noticed Hiruma was holding on to Mamori protectively.

"Wait, what's going on?" asked Karin as she came closer. "Is Mamori okay?"

"She's knocked out, but I think she's okay. But where are we going?" asked Suzuna.

"No time for questions, the dog will lead you to where I'll be," said Hiruma. He straightened up, Mamori in his arms.

"Don't let them get away!" cried Munakata as he ran out of the building with a bunch of security men. "That girl's celestial powers have finally awakened! We can't let her go!"

Yukimitsu was shocked by what he had just heard and by the looks of it, Hiruma as well. "Come on, Sena, we have to go!" cried Yukimitsu, running towards his car. Sena nodded and held on to Suzuna's hand dragging her along, Cerberus and Karin following closely behind.

Suzuna glanced back to see Hiruma and Mamori engulfed in shadows, and then the shadow moved towards the trees where they couldn't be seen.

Hiruma was running now, after making sure that he couldn't be seen. Upon reaching the house, he rushed upstairs to one of the rooms with a bed for Mamori. The moment he laid her down, he took a couple of deep breaths to keep himself calm as he removed the chains from Mamori's wrists. There was anger building within him for what had happened. It was obvious that they cast spells on Mamori while she was in captivity and it had affected her somehow forcing her to this juncture becoming this weak shell, the anger swelled, but...

He had cast a spell on her himself. If not for his innate need to appear physically stoic and untouchable, his shoulders would've sagged. Instead, he gazed at Mamori, sat on the bed and watched her slow breathing, the only sign that could assure him she was still alive and well.

And still the guilty thoughts ran through his head, murmuring accuses, pointing unseen fingers. Had the spell he cast before, unknowingly wakened her celestial powers? Or was it truly only the fault of the doctors from Amino, with their damned tests and their fucking torture devices?

"What have I done..." he groaned. "I casted that spell and now you might die because of it..."

He sat there for a moment, carefully watching her as he tried to stop the guilt and anger from overwhelming him, when he heard Yukimitsu call for him from downstairs. Hiruma yelled at them to come upstairs, feeling a little relieved for the distraction.

Cerberus ran in first. He jumped on to the bed, carefully sniffing Mamori's face, before jumping off again to lie down in a corner of the room. Yukimitsu followed after, carrying a bag that seemed to hold medical equipment. Sena came in with Suzuna, followed by Monta, who stared sadly at Mamori, unable to come close by sheer distraught at the sight of her. Karin followed after, rubbing her wrists as she had just removed her chains as well.

Barely any words were spoken as Yukimitsu began rummaging through his bag. The air was tense. Sena stared at blonde youth with demonic features, knowing him to be much less a demon than he looked and even less a demon than most so-called normal looking people were. And yet his disappearance sparked so many questions in Sena's mind. As a friend, and long time comrade he was tempted to ask him so many questions about what had just happened, what had happened to him and Musashi and most of all what they should be doing now. But he just couldn't get himself to ask. Not when Hiruma looked this awful, and Mamori was in such a bad state. His thoughts were broken, though, when Yukimitsu broke the silence.

"Incredible..." Yukimitsu whispered as he checked one of the gadgets that were strapped around Mamori's wrist. "The amount of magic within her is just a little over the normal amount now, but it's slowly receding. If my calculations are right, judging by the rate her powers are decreasing, the amount she had when she had those wings is phenomenal, and would normally destroy a person or send them into a deep coma. But right now..." He took another device and did a quick scan over Mamori's head. "Well, in layman terms, she's only in a deep sleep right now."

"Sure she's not injured anywhere, Fucking Baldy?" asked Hiruma, still unable to shake his fears.

Yukimitsu performed a quick scan over Mamori's body and checked it. "No, she's just a little bruised but everything's fine internally. She may come down with a slight fever soon though… her body is still adjusting to the influx of powers she's using. But she'll be fine..." Yukimitsu looked at the device, then at Mamori again. "This is amazing... It's a breakthrough right there."

Hiruma looked at Karin. "Did anything happen back in that lab?"

Karin shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know if the professors there did anything to cause this but… she did display signs of her power in there. We managed to escape because she suddenly released a lot of power that knocked everyone in the room out. And yet..."

Suzuna began to cry again. "Is something wrong?" asked Sena as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Suzuna shook her head, but she smiled through her tears. "No... I'm just so glad. The other girls, I mean, the cheerleaders said that Agon could practically kill her or even cripple her for life… but she's safe and alive. I'm so glad..."

Hiruma kept grim despite agreeing deep inside. So many things could have gone wrong tonight, and it would have been too late to reverse it. But there may still be a chance now and this time… He looked at Mamori. This time...

Yukimitsu did one last check up on Mamori, and then agreed that she should recover soon. As to when she would awaken, he wasn't sure. He left the room with Suzuna, Sena, Monta and Karin behind him, leaving Hiruma alone with her. It was obvious the tall brooding man had no intention of leaving Mamori's side.

Hiruma wasn't sure how long he stayed in that room. It could have been hours, or almost a day. He lost track of time as his mind kept working out his next steps, what would be the best thing to do now, and what the percentage of him succeeding was. But regardless, each time his plans would come to a dead stop the moment Mamori came into the picture.

He needed to tell her the truth. There was no running away now. No more hiding behind carefully crafted words or hoping to do this on his own. He needed information that only Mamori had, and he knew she wouldn't offer it up easily.

Mamori was stirring now. Hiruma noticed her head turning toward him and he heard her take a deep breath. She blinked and then she saw Hiruma walking up to her bed. "Hiruma...?" she whispered, her voice rasp.

"Hold on, I'll get some water..." he said, and got up to leave. But he felt Mamori's hand grab his wrist and he stopped where he was.

"No, stay..." Mamori whispered. "I'll be fine soon. The pain's gone. Help me up."

"You're fucking crazy," Hiruma scolded. "You just used a heck load of power earlier, something that could have... should have killed you. So stop being a fucking masochist and get some rest."

"There's no time," she said, her voice still weak but her eyes were opened wider now and there was obvious strength in the way she gripped his wrist. "Just help me up. I need to clear my head."

Hiruma sighed, and then sat on the bed. He gingerly placed an arm on Mamori's back and slowly pulled her into sitting position. He watched her wince a little but some of the worry left him as more colour returned to her face than when he had first rescued her. "What happened to me?" Mamori asked.

"What do you remember?" Hiruma swiftly replied, wanting to test how far she could recollect her memories.

"I remember falling and…" Mamori blinked, looking away uncertainly. "And I remember being so terrified and hearing Karin scream. And then I blacked out, and it was as though I was dreaming but... I remember having wings and that I managed to save Karin. Everything after that was completely blank."

"You're right, you did have wings…" said Hiruma.

"How?" asked Mamori, sounding so confused. "How could I have used powers I never knew I had?"

"You've always had those powers," said Hiruma. "It's just that you were only meant to use a limited amount. Or that's what we know, since all who've exerted powers beyond their capabilities before ended up dead or in a coma."

"And yet I'm okay... Though when Agon was about to control me, I felt another power that wasn't mine taking place..."

"Wait, Agon wanted to control you?" Hiruma near spat, surprised by this revelation.

"Hiruma, it's terrible!" said Mamori. "Agon has this red pendant that gives him these strange powers to transform and control people!"

"A red pendant..." said Hiruma, his eyes darkened. "I knew it. Everything pointed at him."

"What do you mean?" asked Mamori, noting Hiruma's sudden change. "You know about that pendant?"

Hiruma grinned, though his eyes were still dark. He got up from the bed. "Remember when I told you about my fucking demon of a father coming here intending to control human beings? Well, yeah… that pendant contains the source of his powers."

He looked at Mamori for a moment, and though she wore a shocked expression, she beckoned for him to continue. "He gathered all his powers and concentrated all of it into that pendant. According to his journal, doing that was supposed to help him gain more control without his powers going berserk as it tends to do. Just like your celestial powers, demonic powers also have the ability to consume a person if they aren't used right."

"I'm not sure what exactly Agon's plan is but whatever it is, he intends to use that pendant at the peak of its power..." said Mamori. "And he knew it would consume him if he did. That's why he needed me..."

Hiruma looked at Mamori intently. "Because of your celestial powers?"

Mamori nodded. "He said that celestial powers are able to protect him from being consumed. And as I have the power to shield, I was the perfect candidate."

"Did the professors there do anything to you?"

"I don't know... maybe. But whatever they did to me was blank. Hiruma..." said Mamori, looking at him seriously now. "I know that look. You're thinking of a plan, aren't you?"

Hiruma grinned but made no attempt to answer. Mamori sighed. "You weren't planning on leaving me out again, are you?" she asked.

"What the fuck do you mean?" asked Hiruma, looking very grim. "You really fucking near got yourself killed back there, and you expect me to come up with a plan that involves you?"

"But I can't leave you just like this... Agon has hurt so many people! I may be the only way to stop him! You've got to let me help!"

"Listen to me, Mamori," said Hiruma, so quickly that it took Mamori over a second to realize that Hiruma had just said her name. He looked at her sternly. "The only way to stop this now is if I regain possession of that pendant. That would mean getting close to Agon. If you came, the chances are high that fucking dreads is going to get hold of you again and..." he stopped, unable to say that he was actually afraid of losing her again.

"What would happen... if you possess that pendant?" asked Mamori, with a tinge of fear.

Hiruma couldn't look at her now. "Whatever it is, if you follow me you would be in terrible danger. I may know a lot of spells, but I know I'm not powerful enough to protect you. But… if you stay away from me, you will be safe. You'll lead a normal life, and do anything you've always wanted to do."

"But Hiruma-" Mamori started, but Hiruma cut her off.

**[Hiruma]**  
_I'm limited  
Just look at me  
I'm limited  
And just look at you  
You can do all I couldn't do, Mamori  
So now it's up to you  
For both of us  
Now it's up to you..._

Mamori sat up straighter now, as Hiruma looked away from her. She opened her mouth to say something. She could tell there were so many things she wanted to say to him, but the right words just wouldn't come. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

**[Mamori]**  
_I've heard it said  
That people come into our lives for a reason  
Bringing something we must learn  
And we are led  
To those who help us most to grow  
If we let them  
And we help them in return  
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true  
But I know I'm who I am today  
Because I knew you..._ (smiling at Hiruma)

_Like a comet pulled from orbit  
As it passes a sun  
Like a stream that meets a boulder  
Halfway through the wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I knew you  
I have been changed for good_

Hiruma looked at Mamori, and suppressed a sigh that was about to escape his lips. She was smiling at him, that same familiar smile he once detested. How did they end up like this, he wasn't sure. But he knew Mamori had made up her mind, and although stubbornness was predominantly his trait, he thought he might let it go just this once.

**[Hiruma]**  
_It well may be  
That we will never be the same  
In this lifetime  
So let me say before we start  
So much of me  
Is made of what I learned from you  
You're always with me  
Like a handprint on my heart  
And now whatever way this story leads  
I know you have re-written mine  
By being with me..._

_Like a ship blown from its mooring  
By a wind off the sea  
Like a seed dropped by a skybird  
In a distant wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I knew you..._

Mamori stretched out her hand towards Hiruma.

**[Mamori]**  
_Because I knew you..._

Hiruma smiled a little. He sat on the bed and took Mamori's hand.

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_I have been changed for good_

**[Hiruma]**  
_And just to clear the air  
I ask forgiveness  
For the things I've done you blame me for_

**[Mamori]** (shrugs)  
_But then, I guess we know  
There's blame to share_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_And none of it seems to matter anymore_

**[Mamori]**  
_Like a comet pulled from orbit_

**[Hiruma]**  
_Like a ship blown from its mooring_

**[Mamori]**  
_As it passes a sun_

**[Hiruma]**  
_By a wind off the sea_

**[Mamori]**  
_Like a stream that meets a boulder_

**[Hiruma]**  
_Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood_

**[Mamori]**  
_Halfway through the wood_

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Who can say if I've been  
Changed for the better?  
I do believe I have been  
Changed for the better_

**[Mamori]**  
_And because I knew you..._

**[Hiruma]**  
_Because I knew you..._

**[Hiruma & Mamori]**  
_Because I knew you...  
I have been changed for good..._

They were both leaning towards each other now, Mamori's lips were slightly parted as she drew her face closer to Hiruma's, and before he realized it, her lips were pressed against his. It was as though suddenly, every alternate plan he had, meant nothing now. A burden had lifted off of him. The warmth of Mamori's lips assured him that everything was going to be all right.

He was about wrap one arm around Mamori's waist when they heard Sena cry from downstairs, "Musashi?"

They quickly broke apart to listen for any sign of bad news. But there was an excited murmur going on downstairs instead. Mamori blushed a little, and said, "I think we better check out what's happening."

Hiruma nodded wordlessly. But he grinned at her as he got up and held his hand out. "Let's get to it then."

Mamori smiled as she took his hand and got out of the bed. She was shaky at first, but Hiruma steadied her never once letting go of her, and so they walked down the stairs hand in hand.

Just as they were about to reach the bottom of the stairs, they were surprised to find a number of people downstairs. It was still a little dark despite the dawning sun finally peeking through. The sight of the men scared Mamori for a moment, but Hiruma was grinning from ear to ear now.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me..." he said.

Sena was standing next to Yukimitsu, who was also amazed at the sight before him. "Look! Hiruma! Look who's here!" cried Sena excitedly with Monta shrieking happily in the background.

"HIRUMA!" cried Kurita, running up to Hiruma. "I'm so glad you're al-"

Hiruma let go of Mamori's hand for a moment, pulled out a rifle, and shot Kurita down multiple times. "What did I say about hugging me, you Fucking Fatty?" he cried.

"Ah, monsieur Hiruma is the same as ever..." said another guy, coming up to them. "And what is this, a lovely lady by his side!" He got to his knees and pulled out a rose. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am..."

Suzuna suddenly rushed forward and knocked the guy's head. "Stop flirting with every girl you see, you stupid brother!"

"Brother?" said Mamori. "You're Suzuna's brother?"

"Natsuhiko Taki!" cried Taki, though his head was still on the floor.

"Keh, what is this... a Devil Bats reunion?" asked Hiruma, as he rested his rifle against his shoulder and grinned at the sight before him.

Musashi walked up to him. "Well, I couldn't get everyone but I did get a number of replacements, just the way you like it. I thought you'd be needing some help, especially since we'll be up against Agon."

"How the fuck would you know about that?" asked Hiruma.

"Because Musashi said you were going to face the police on your own earlier!" said Kurita, finally getting up. "And we knew you would need back up!"

"Master!" cried a short but stout boy.

"It's all right, Komusubi, see! I'm fine!" assured Kurita.

Suddenly Unsui appeared and ran up to them. "Karin?"

Karin, who had been sitting at a corner, got up and rushed forward. "Unsui!" She hugged him happily.

"Thank goodness you're all right! Yamato and the others have been so worried about you!" said Unsui, but he smiled all the same.

"There's a lot that needs to be talked about, and we may need Yamato and the others to help," said Karin as she looked at Hiruma and Mamori.

Mamori was now looking around, surprised by what was happening and gasped. "The Ha-Ha brothers!"

"Huh?" said Juumonji.

"Huh?" said Togano.

"HUUUH?" said Kuroki.

Mamori sweat-dropped. "Didn't think I'd actually hear that again but... what are you guys doing here?"

"I told them about your condition…" said a girl with a stern looking face.

"Megu!" cried Mamori, as Megu walked up towards her.

"You told me to call for help if anything happened to you when you were staying with me," said Megu. "Well, we heard you got captured by the police so I gathered everyone to gather clues about you, including the Ha-Ha brothers."

"Don't misunderstand!" cried Kuroki angrily. "We don't want anyone else but us defeating you!"

"It's all right, Kuroki," said Juumonji. "We might as well admit that we were concerned about her. After all, she's the one who helped set us straight." He grinned at Mamori.

Mamori's heart was filled with joy. "I thought you hated me..."

"We still do," said Togano, pulling out a manga to read. "But we can't deny that fact."

"But how did you guys find me here?" asked Mamori.

"Stumbled into them while I was gathering everyone from the old Devil Bats," said Musashi. They were very helpful indeed..." he said, while nodding his head outside the house.

Hiruma and Mamori took a better look outside. Hiruma cackled delightedly, "You really are fucking kidding me!" as he saw Rui with his band of misfits on their motorbikes.

Rui glared back at Hiruma. "Don't you dare fucking look too deep into this," said Rui. "I want to fucking crush you after what you did to me and my team."

"Kekeke, I look forward to crushing you again on the field," said Hiruma. "But we have other plans to settle first before we can do that again."

Mamori looked around, amazed at the sudden increase of allies they've garnered to go against Agon. Hiruma placed a hand on Mamori's shoulder and grinned at her. Then he shouted, "All right! Let's huddle! We're going to find a way to crush that Fucking Dreads!"


	18. Chapter 17

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Messy chapter is delectably messy~! Mmm... No, actually, it's not. Haha! It's a bit of a confusing chapter as a lot of things are going on at once so I hope my writing style doesn't get you guys confused. Let me know if it is, and I'll work on fixing it.

One more chapter and an epilogue to go! Might post both together or just in the same week. Hard to believe, aye?

Song used in this chapter is "March of the Witch Hunter". Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

* * *

There were many people that stood before Deimon College now, as Deimon students and citizens alike gathered to display outrage over the news they'd just received. Many of them clutched their newspapers, the cause for their anger.

"A Deimon citizen has once again been taken into the hands of The Demon!" cried one man, reading the headlines aloud. "There is a possibility that she might have been killed, or will be killed if we don't save her!"

"But she may still be under his spell!" cried a woman. "What if the demon has cast a spell on everyone?"

"How dare he taint the name of Deimon and terrorize us like this! We must do something at once!" cried another man.

"But we've been patrolling the streets and there have been no signs of him around Deimon!" cried another woman.

A voice clear and commanding rang out through the chaos, "Then obviously we need a better plan!" Agon stepped forward among them, and the dazed crowd slowly fell silent to hear his words. "Rest assured. I will find a way to stop that demon from terrorizing you citizens."

"But how?" cried one man, shaking a newspaper in his fist. "You're just a student! For all we know you could be with him!"

A collective gasp ran through the crowd and everyone began whispering but it was cut off once again, this time by Agon's placating tone.

"I assure you I am not and will not ever want to be associated with such a pitiful one as him. But as students who have been exposed to this magical atrocity, we know much more about how his demon mind works," said Agon, as the citizens of Deimon now crowded around him. "He has now claimed the sweet Anezaki Mamori, I once called mine, as his own. He is also behind the transformation of those two students into primates. Beware, citizens of Deimon! Yourself, your family, your friends may be next!"

"Down with the Demon!" cried one of the Citizens.

"Kill him!" a few faceless voices chorused.

"Citizens of Deimon, I have a proposition for you!" cried Agon, nodding to one of the boys next to him, who acknowledged his signal and left for a moment. "I have gathered the best students from Deimon College, as well as a number of the Police, and equipped them with proper weapons to handle the Demon and whoever he is controlling… Rest assured, we are the Demon Hunters and we will take him down!"

The citizens cheered as male students emerged from the college, coming towards them, holding tasers, guns and bats.

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Go and hunt him  
And find him  
And kill him_

"Good fortune, Demon Hunters!" cried one of the women.

[Citizens of Deimon]  
Go and hunt him  
And find him  
And kill him

"Kill the demon!" cried one of the men.

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Wickedness must be punished  
Evil effectively eliminated  
Wickedness must be punished  
Kill the Demon!_

"And this is more than just a service to you citizens!" cried Agon, raising his fist in anger. "I have a personal score to settle... with that Demon!"

**[Agon]**  
_It's due to him a girl was lost  
His spell made this occur  
Realize that he is heartless  
He was heartless killing her!_

_We the students also  
Have a grievance to repay  
If we had just stopped him beforehand  
When we had the chance  
We wouldn't be in this mess today!_

"Kill him!" cried the citizens of Deimon. "Kill the Demon!"

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Wickedness must be punished  
Brave Demon-Hunters, I would join you if I could  
Because Wickedness must be punished  
Punished  
Punished  
But good!_

In the distance, a man stood shrouded in the shadows of a building corner. He pulled out his phone and made a call to Unsui, who was at that moment deep in conversation with Musashi. "Unsui?"

"Right here listening, Yamato," said Unsui. "How's the status in Deimon?"

"As crazy as you stated," replied Yamato, almost laughing. "They're very, very keen on killing Hiruma. And it seems they're also aware he might be... controlling... other people. So they've pretty much got the authorities as well as some of the students involved in finding Hiruma and taking down anyone else who seems to be with him."

"I see…" said Unsui. "My brother must have been the one to send the students. He's very reckless."

"I notice. I remember playing against him, but I don't remember him being this careless," said Yamato. "In fact, he looks like a totally different person from what I remember."

Unsui smiled a little sadly. "You're right. I don't think he is that same person anymore."

"Fucking Old Man!" cried Hiruma in the background. "Get your ass and everyone else's to the back of the house! We're gonna start this off now!"

Musashi rolled his eyes and looked disgruntled but a smile played at the corners of his mouth. Hiruma had reverted back to his old self and was doing what he did best. Then he snapped to it, glancing at Unsui who acknowledged the announcement with a nod and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

When everyone had gathered around Hiruma at last, he pulled out a map and placed it on a makeshift table before everyone. "Now listen good, we don't have much time. I've received confirmation that there are some fucking Demon hunters set up to patrol the streets of Deimon. Those idiots have the usual weapons such as tasers and guns to take us down." He cackled almost maniacally at this.

"So what do we do once we face them?" asked Musashi.

"Fucking kill them, that's what," said Hiruma with a grin.

Rui and his gang mirrored that grin albeit a lot more eagerly. "At least we get to crush you stupid Deimon idiots this way," said Rui.

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Juumonji seriously. "Won't this look bad for you?"

"Does it look like these people will listen to fucking reason when they have a fucking taser in their hand?" Hiruma brushed off Jumonji's concerns nonchalantly. "Highly doubt it. Take them down before they take you. I'll be designating you all into groups. Most of you will be handling those on the streets. Me and a certain few will break into Deimon College, where that Fucking Dreads is staying."

"Why's he staying there?" asked Kuroki, looking at the map. "Thought he'd be out looking for Hiruma too!"

"Well, hearsay says a number of professors from Amino are temporarily residing in Deimon," said Yukimitsu. "Apparently something big is about to happen. From the looks of it, whatever Agon is after, it's not Hiruma. This is just a ruse to conduct something bigger without the citizens suspecting him."

"But is it safe to go after him, then?" asked Karin. "It sounds really risky, especially since he was after Mamori to stop these powers from consuming him..."

"Not unless Agon has found a way to do this without Mamori," said Unsui. "That could be why the professors from Amino are in Deimon now."

"And that's why I have to be there," said Hiruma, looking down at the map where Deimon College was stated. "Whatever that Fucking Dreads is about to do, it's not going to be good. I'm the only one who can stop him."

There was a moment of silence as everyone Hiruma's words weighed down upon everyone. Then Kurita spoke up, "That's why we're here, Hiruma! We'll protect you and open up a path for you!"

"Protect!" cried Komusubi.

"You can depend on me!" cried Taki enthusiastically, kicking one of his legs up in a full split.

"Err, no..." said the Ha-Ha brothers looking skeptically at Taki. "You don't look dependable at all."

"Impossible!" Taki still looked stupidly optimistic. "Look at me! Can't you not see the amazing abilities that only I! Natsuhiko Taki! Can-"

Suzuna suddenly appeared and knocked her brother to the ground with her skates on. "You stupid brother! I told you not to embarrass yourself here!"

"Suzuna!" cried Sena in surprise. "I was wondering where you were..." He then looked at Suzuna's feet, and more specifically, at her skates. "You're wearing your skates..." he said with a smile.

Suzuna shrugged but looked very pleased. "Thought they suited me best. Besides, I think they may be useful for today."

"Today?" Sena blinked. "Wait, you're not thinking of-"

Suzuna skated forward and grabbed Sena's hand. "Come on, you can't leave a girl out of all the fun! Besides..." Suzuna grinned at him. "You know, despite how popular I was I AM pretty dependable."

Sena was about to protest but stopped himself. His shoulders sagged as he heaved a big sigh but he looked up and smiled at Suzuna, accepting her decision, and said, "I'll do my best to protect you. But you better not do anything rash!"

"YAAAH!" a huge smile lit up Suzuna's face as she skated circles around Sena excitedly. Sena laughed a little nervously by this reaction.

"Well, isn't everyone looking lively!" said Mamori as she stepped out of the house, holding a plate piled high with sandwiches. "Well, I just made something for you guys... it's not much, but it's the least I can do..."

"Mamo-nee!" called Suzuna cheerfully as she skated towards Mamori. "You should have told me, I could have helped you!"

"It's fine!" Mamori replied, but shot a glance at Hiruma feeling his angry gaze but knowing he was more worried than anything else. "I know I should be resting but I couldn't just lie down knowing all this is going on, and I thought I could help by doing this. There's a bit more at the back so help me give those out."

"Sure thing!" Suzuna spun on her heel gracefully, skating towards the kitchen. Most of the guys surged forward as one, their greedy fingers grabbing at the sandwiches.

Kuroki took two and a scuffle broke out between him and Togano for that second sandwich seeing as everything had run out except for one which Mamori was holding on to. "Give me one you greedy pig!"

"Hell yeah I'm greedy!" cried Kuroki, almost swallowing the first sandwich. "Which is why I'm definitely not giving this to you!"

Mamori was about to protest and say there were a lot more sandwiches, but Hiruma quietly slipped behind her and whispered into her ear, "You really shouldn't be pushing yourself like this. How did you get the food?"

"Cerberus helped me...," said Mamori, turning around to speak to him properly. "I wanted rice to make onigiri but I realized that the kitchen here lacks any cutlery other than plates and cups, so I got Cerberus to bring me some bread and tuna. Here," said Mamori, handing the sandwich she was holding to Hiruma. "As usual, you look like you haven't eaten in days."

Hiruma took the sandwich without a word and took a bite, at the first taste; memories of their time back in the dorm flooded his mind. They were both silent for a moment, as Mamori's eyes roved over everyone eating their sandwiches happily. "I'm glad that they all look happy," said Mamori quietly.

"Fuckers don't even know what they're getting into," muttered Hiruma, halfway through the sandwich.

"And yet they're still here, willing to help us out…" said Mamori, then she smiled. "You, especially. For a demon, you sure have a lot of friends."

"If by friends you mean idiots whom I can pull in to do what I want," Hiruma grinned. "Then you're right."

Sena watched from a distance as Mamori began to scold Hiruma and he cackled mockingly in response. Suzuna skated smoothly up to him, holding the empty plate of sandwiches she had just passed around to those from Zokugaku. She was about to speak when she noticed that Sena had a serious look on his face and she traced his gaze to Hiruma and Mamori bantering with one another across the room. "What's wrong, Sena?" she asked.

Sena blinked and jumped slightly, startled. Then he scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something..."

"Well, you can tell me then," Suzuna placed a comforting hand on Sena's shoulder as they both continued watching Mamori and Hiruma. "Is something wrong with them?"

"No..." said Sena, his expression turning serious again. "No, but... something feels funny. It's good to have everyone here, together again, especially those two. But I can't stop this nagging feeling telling me this isn't going to last."

Suzuna became worried after this revelation. "Sena..."

Sena noticed the worried tone of Suzuna's voice and laughed nervously. "It's all right, I'm probably just a little nervous. That's all."

Hiruma's voice broke through the crowd. "All right, let's huddle you fucking-!"

Mamori quickly cut him off. "Stop that!" she scolded him, and then called out to everyone. "Gather round! We're going to designate everyone now!"

oOo

It was in the wee hours of the morning now. The sky was dark but daybreak would come in a few hours. Rag tag bunches of students could be seen walking sluggishly towards Deimon College after spending most of the night taking care of the borders of Deimon. But there was no sight, no sound of Hiruma and his gang. Thinking that it was safe and that surely they wouldn't be attacked when daybreak was so close, the students dropped their guard.

There was the sound of rumbling, coming down one of the streets now. "Someone driving at this hour?" said one of the boys.

"Could just be the milkman or something like that," said another.

"Wait... it's getting louder..."

"And it doesn't sound like it's just ONE vehicle..."

It was still too dark to guess at first, but soon it became obvious. Before they knew it, they were surrounded by motorbikes and they instinctively reached for their weapons to attack, only to find their weapons gone, taken away by Sena who was passing them around to the Zokugaku students. Megu, who was on one of the moving motorbikes, began to hit the students with her wooden sword as she passed by them with ease.

"WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" screamed one of the boys, and all too soon the ruckus attracted the attention of other patrolling parties who ran up to help.

A number of students rushed towards the bikers but found their way blocked by the Ha-Ha brothers. "Going somewhere?" asked Kuroki with an amused look. With a swift motion, the Ha-Ha brothers tackled the students and kept them to the ground.

Unsui was carrying a big bag, given to him by Yukimitsu, with Karin standing next to him. A couple of football players from Teikoku were handling another bunch of students and were close to being overwhelmed. One of the students had a taser and was poised to attack the players with it. Unsui rummaged through the bag and passed one of the contents to Karin. She raised her arm and screamed, "MOVE!" to the players.

In one swift movement, Karin then threw the item towards the dazed students, who were caught by surprise when the players ran away. They soon realized why when there was a loud bang and suddenly they were in a thick haze of smoke. Coughing and sputtering, they tried to escape the smoke, only to collide with one another and fall.

Closer to the college, Suzuna was holding a long rope as she skated towards the college building when her path was blocked by two policemen. She skidded to a halt as the policemen rushed towards her, but suddenly vaulted high above their heads. The policemen kept their widened eyes on Suzuna as she soared above them, and that was when Kurita suddenly rushed forward. "FUNNURABAAA!" he cried as he tackled the two policemen and pinned them to the ground. She landed and took this opportunity to skate inside.

As she had expected, a couple of cheerleaders were there, they had just woken up from the noise of the chaos. "Hey, it's you!" cried one of the girls.

"Yeah, it's me!" cried Suzuna happily. "I know we don't get along and all, but I thought it'd be great if we hang out together today! I even brought my boyfriend! How does that sound?" She held the rope out before her and skated towards them. The girls were confused, but one of them cried out when the other end of the rope seemed to have magically raised itself and was quickly going around them as Suzuna tightened the rope by going in the opposite direction. Once they were properly tied, it was then that the cheerleaders saw Sena, who had the other end of the rope.

"What the... That little idiot?" cried one of the girls. "I thought you broke up with him! And aren't you supposed to be on our side?"

Suzuna giggled and hugged Sena, who blushed sheepishly, in front of the girls. "Sena's worth a lot more to me than you girls will ever be! Now hang tight, someone will pick you up!" With that, Sena and Suzuna rushed into the building.

Yukimitsu sat by the corner of one of the nearby buildings of Deimon College, trying to keep hidden as his laptop sat before him. He occasionally typed as he kept his eyes glued to the screen where continuous data kept popping up before him. There were still a number of people in the building where Agon and the professors were supposed to be. He had managed to crack into the security cameras within the building, so he had a rough idea of where they were. But he had to wait until almost everyone was out of the building except Agon before he could signal Hiruma.

There was the sound of a pebble being kicked behind him. Yukimitsu jumped as he saw a student with a bat that was flying down towards him. Yukimitsu ducked, but before the bat could hit him, he heard the student scream in pain. "What the...?" went Yukimitsu as he looked to see who had saved him...

And found Cerberus clinging tightly on to the student's arm with his sharp teeth. The boy screamed and shouted and tried to push the dog away. After half a minute, Cerberus let go and proceeded to chase the student and anyone around Yukimitsu away, barking and growling loudly. Yukimitsu gave a sigh of relief. "Glad you're on my side..." he said, as he then continued to monitor the building on his laptop.

Munakata and the rest of the professors were looking out of the windows now, finally able to see the chaos as the darkness lessened. "We're being attacked!" cried one of the professors.

"Don't worry," said Munakata. "These petty fights won't stop us."

They heard a banging sound on one of the windows from the other side of the room, and before they could see who it was, the window broke with a loud crash and Monta rushed in.

"A MONKEY?" cried another professor, and before he could say another word, Monta pounced on him and gave a loud screech.

Sena and Suzuna then appeared. Suzuna looked back into the corridor shouting, "They're over here!" and soon Musashi was there with Rui. The professors, in their panic, tried to escape through another door. Rui ran towards that door and kept his long arms outstretch and ready to stop them. Another had grabbed an iron rail and tried to whack Musashi out of the way, but as he approached Musashi, the boy gave a swift, firm kick at the iron rail and it flew across the room.

"HELP US!" cried one of the professors as he tried to push Rui away. Rui, in anger, tackled that particular professor, giving the wily Munakata an opportunity to run.

Suzuna saw this. "One of them is getting away!" she cried. Sena nodded and was about to rush forward when all of a sudden, though obviously shaken and terrified, the professors crowded around them, blocking off their path. "No! Munakata will get Agon and he'll save us!"

"Agon!" cried Sena. This was bad! If Munakata got to Agon then...

Musashi tackled the professors that were blocking Sena, pinning them to the ground like Kurita had done for Suzuna before. "GO! Lead him off!" cried Musashi.

Sena analyzed the open path and zoomed through the opening before him. He managed to head off Munakata and blocked his path. Munakata cried out and ran in the opposite direction. Every path he took, Sena would block it, except for one path... which led out of the building. Thinking he had no choice, and that he could call Agon once he found a safe place, he headed towards the exit...

Where Taki stood waiting for him. "Aha! I found one!" he cried.

"What?" cried Sena as he saw Taki. "W-where's Kurita?"

"Monsieur Kurita is busy! I shall be the one to stop this man!" cried Taki, striking a pose.

Munakata's cunning eyes gleamed when he assessed that Taki looked like an idiot. He grinned confidently as he took off his labcoat. "I'll have you know that I did experiments on myself to make me stronger!" Munakata then peeled off his shirt to reveal artificial yet rock-solid looking abs. "Behold! My greatest creation!"

Both Taki and Sena's jaws dropped. "N-no way!" stuttered Sena. "A-a professor with that kind of body?"

But Taki had regained himself and laughed. "Ahaha! That cannot stop me!" Taki reached into his pocket and pulled out a band. He then proceeded to tie up his long unruly hair in a ponytail. "It would take a lot more than muscle to take me down," said Taki seriously.

Munakata rushed forward, his big body advancing as Taki held his ground. Just as Munakata came close, Taki moved forward but slipped on the marble floor and fell on his back. Munakata, caught unaware by this, tripped over Taki and fell out of the building face flat, knocking him out.

Sena rushed to check on Munakata. Then looked at Taki with a you-can't-be-serious look. "Did... did you just..."

Taki hurriedly bounced back up, trying to hide any form of embarrassment, and did a little pirouette. "Ahaha! I am a GENIUS!"

Hiruma watched from a distance as everyone kept the students and the police in chaos. Every now and then, he shot at a few policemen with his gun whenever he saw anyone from his team being overwhelmed by them. The ammo was merely rubber bullets that caused them to pass out or be heavily bruised, something Mamori insisted upon instead of real bullets. "Keh..." he muttered at the thought but was bemused at the same time. Time was running out. Dawn was going to break soon. Mamori had just rushed to his side. "Where were you?" he asked.

"Protected some of the players from Teikoku and..." Mamori's voice trailed away.

Hiruma chose to not pursue the matter further. "We're almost there. Fucking Baldy just sent me a message. Also saw the Fucking Monkey and the others leave with a couple of the professors. The building's almost evacuated, except Agon and a couple more policemen."

Mamori nodded. She looked up at Hiruma, who seemed calm enough. There was no way they could waste time or energy exchanging many words now. So in an attempt to show that she was still there for him, she reached for his hand and held it tightly.

Hiruma glanced at their intertwined hands for a moment. He gripped her hand tightly, then moved forward towards the back of the building, where it had mostly cleared. Just as he was about to enter, he stopped and let go of Mamori's hand. "You know what to do..." he said.

Mamori nodded as she took a deep breath. She watched as Hiruma entered the building from the back. Once she was sure everyone had left the building, she placed a force field around the building. They had planned to keep it this way, while Hiruma handled Agon, but Mamori knew she wouldn't be able to keep herself stationed, keeping people out of the building for long. Once she was sure no one was trying to rush in, then...

Hiruma casually walked into the building, gun in hand. He knew Mamori would be safe as long as she kept out of the building. As he had calculated, the last few policemen rushed forward the moment he got closer to the classroom that Agon was in. He released a few well aimed shots at them right in the head using the rubber bullets, knocking them out instantly.

He breathed deeply as he faced the room where Agon was sure to be in. He opened the door, and instead of being faced with Agon ready to break his face, Agon stood in the middle of the classroom, grinning. "Welcome! I've been waiting for you."

Hiruma looked at Agon suspiciously. "So you know about me, Fucking Dreads?"

"Not everything, of course," Agon shrugged. "But I can sense you're after a great power that I have in my possession. And my, are you doing anything to have it," he said as he pointed to the window outside, where chaos continued to reign.

"That thing doesn't belong to you, Fucking Dreads," said Hiruma. "I believe you know that as well."

"And you think YOU deserve it?" Agon laughed. "I've heard about you. Cursed since you were born, possessing strange powers... you killed your mother, didn't you?"

Hiruma winced at this, but remained silent.

"Ah, I hit the nail right on the head, didn't I? And after years of being looked down upon, where everything seems to be taken away from you... You now desire a power to finally rise from all this and claim your rightful spot in this world." Agon grinned menacingly at Hiruma. "Well, too bad for you that I got it first."

Hiruma cackled. "You fucking idiots always think the same way. I don't give a fuck about what people think of me, and I don't need that fucking thing to finally be free of this stupid situation."

"Oh really?" said Agon as he pulled out the red pendant. "So I suppose you luring Mamori to yourself was not some ruse to use her as your form of protection when you use this?"

"Keh, stop trying to pull me to your level Fucking Dreads," said Hiruma, who momentarily thought of Mamori. "It's fucking pathetic. I'm only after that fucking thing to destroy it."

For a moment, Agon's smug look fell as his eyebrows lifted almost to his hairline. "You can't be serious…" he laughed. "You went through all that trouble to get everyone involved... to destroy this?"

"I know what you're after and why you're so bent on claiming this power as yours," said Hiruma. "One of your article comments sums you up perfectly. Your team was losing until you came along and crushed them, and so you said... 'If the whole team were made up of only me, Ojou would have been completely flattened'. That's what you want. You want to control people to your advantage, make them just like you... against the trash whom you so despise."

Agon grinned. "I can't believe you actually remember that comment," he said. "The fact that you can even link this to what I aim to do is just fascinating. You would be the perfect candidate to conduct this experiment on then. I was thinking of using those stupid policemen you took down earlier, but since you offer yourself readily, I might as well..."

Hiruma positioned himself ready. "Shouldn't you be worried about being consumed if you try to use that pendant? That girl isn't here..."

"If you mean Mamori, I won't be needing her for this," said Agon as he raised the pendant. "Munakata had already prepared the magic circle needed to conduct this without harming me. In fact, it's designed for YOU to take most of the heat while you're in this circle. You'll be weak and pretty useless, but I will enjoy making you at least dance a jig with that pathetic grin of yours."

The prospect of Agon aiming only at him and no one else couldn't be better for Hiruma. "Kekeke, give it your best shot, Fucking Dreads..." he said, raising his gun towards Agon as the lines and words written on the floor glowed red with the pendant.


	19. Chapter 18

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** I realize now my writing style for action scenes is always pretty quick. I don't like dwelling too much on it. So in the end, this chapter didn't turn out as long as I hoped. But it has everything I needed to state so... I hope it makes sense to you guys.

I'll talk more about this chapter after you've read it. Song used is the 'Finale' of Wicked. Enjoy!

"..." - Conversation  
_Italics_ - Singing  
**Bold** - Singer  
(...) - Actions while singing

* * *

Mamori's head shot up at the sound of gunshots ringing inside the building. She let out a tiny gasp as she quickly dropped her force field, and quickly swept her gaze around the area to make sure everyone was at a distance from the building before rushing in.

Although she wasn't sure which room to head to, all she had to do was follow the sounds of gunshots and loud banging noises ringing all the way down the corridor. She skidded to a halt at one of the rooms that was glowing bright red, with bursts of light shining through at every crack or clearing. Cautiously, she moved to the door and took a quick peek inside…

Her eyes widened at the sight of the floor glowing red with lines and words, and Agon in the middle with the pendant in his hand as Hiruma moved across the floor quickly. Every time Hiruma stopped for more than a second the red light beneath his feet would grow brighter, threatening to overcome him, but then with guns stretched out before him, he would be on the move again trying to shoot Agon down.

The shots seemed futile with Agon nonchalantly moving to avoid the bullets on instances, but more often than not he created a momentary shield with the pendant, simply deflecting the bullets. "If that's all you have to offer, I'm afraid you're just wasting your time and energy," drawled Agon, a haughty, bored expression on his face.

Hiruma who was breathing heavily merely responded with his trademark "Keh." Despite this, Mamori noticed that Hiruma kept his distance from Agon, and continued to move quickly across the floor from one corner to another. Soon she noticed Hiruma kept jumping from point to point in a certain pattern, and by the gleam in Agon's eyes, he had realized this too and was about to use this to his advantage.

Just as Hiruma landed in another spot, Agon clenched his fist on the pendant, and before Hiruma could escape, the red light finally engulfed him. Mamori let out a cry and was about to rush into the room, when she saw shadows appear from the spots Hiruma kept jumping on before, including the one he was on now, and they swooped towards Agon rapidly descending upon him.

Agon gasped as the shadows held on to his legs and arms tightly, stifling his movements. He made loud grunts of protest as the shadow around his right wrist began to twist, causing him to lose his grip on the pendant as it slowly slipped through his fingers.

Hiruma was walking forward to him now, a grin plastered on his face. "Thought you had me just then, didn't you?" he cackled.

"You!" cried Agon. "How did you-?"

"The gun was just a distraction," Hiruma grinned. "If you had more fucking brains, you would have figured that out. Now to finally fucking end this." Hiruma reached for the pendant.

Agon watched as Hiruma's hand neared the pendant, about to grab it. With a loud cry, he focused his remaining strength to tighten his grip on the pendant once more, and released the pendant's power to finally gain control of Hiruma.

Mamori watched in horror as the red light engulfed Hiruma once more, and in a state of panic, she rushed forward and placed a force field around Hiruma. She realized barely a second too late, after looking down, the big mistake she had made by doing just that.

Hiruma squeezed his eyes shut tight and prepared for the sudden burst of pain that was sure to come. But he felt nothing, and instead heard a loud bang coming from behind him. He knew instantly something was wrong, and as he opened his eyes, he felt his jaw drop at what he saw.

The glowing red magic circle from the ground was gone now, but Mamori was lying on the floor, her body looked lifeless. "What...?" he murmured.

Agon laughed maniacally. "That trash of a woman!" he laughed. "That stupid woman actually tried to SAVE you! And now she's hit by the spell instead! This is perfect! She's mine, once again! Once she gets up, I'll make her fight you! How would you like to see that? The woman you love going against you?" Agon carried on laughing, but his laughter slowly faded when he felt a dark aura creep around him. He stopped laughing the moment he realized the dark aura came from Hiruma, his back towards Agon as he continued staring down at Mamori.

The shadows holding on to Agon dissolved and for a moment, despite the dark aura, Agon thought he had won. He raised the pendant victoriously; ready to knock Hiruma down, but the ground beneath him quivered. In the next instant, spikes burst through the ground. Agon dodged it, finally putting his God-like reflexes to use after long years of abandon, but he was still too slow. And a spike caught him and scratched through his left shin.

Every step he took, a spike would emerge from the ground beneath his feet. Soon he was running as quickly as he could, heading towards Hiruma, but Hiruma had disappeared. Is he hiding in the shadows? In his last attempt to gain control of the situation, he ran towards Mamori.

But that proved to be the worst thing he could've done. Just as he got close to Mamori, thinking that if he was near her the spikes would cease so as to not harm her, he suddenly felt a strong blow in his abdomen. The blow threw him across the room and he hit the wall at least a few feet above the floor. The impact made Agon's eyes roll to the back of his head. It was a pain he had never experienced in his life.

He felt his body slump to the floor, almost certain some of his bones must have broken from the impact. Breathing heavily, he opened his eyes to find Hiruma standing before him, his eyes glowing red. Agon gave a small laugh, his breathing still sparse. "So… you really are a demon. Gonna kill me now?"

Hiruma narrowed his eyes, but remained unmoved.

Agon coughed a little. "Well, you got me now. So go ahead! Kill me! While I'm still alive, you won't be able to even feel the pendant! Go on! Do it! And let the citizens of Deimon see who you truly are!"

But Hiruma stood still, agitating Agon to shout even more.

"Not gonna avenge her?" he cried, pointing at Mamori. "While I'm still alive, she'll be mine. No spell can undo that. Not unless I'm dead. Ran out of magic? You still have that gun, don't you? So what are you waiting for...?" But Hiruma did not do anything, and continued to stare down menacingly at Agon. Then Agon began to laugh once more. "You taking pity on me? You're wasting your time."

"Fucking dreads," Hiruma finally spoke up. His voice made the hair on the back of Agon's neck stand. "You need to shut the fuck up. I'll kill you when I feel like it."

Agon looked at Hiruma for a moment and then looked past him and noticed that spikes continued appearing from the ground, despite Agon being nowhere near them. It then occurred to him that the reason why Hiruma had stopped attacking him was so Hiruma could regain control of his powers which had momentarily gone berserk. It was then that he remembered he had one last trick up his sleeve. He was sure his right arm was badly injured but tried to keep from wincing and giving his plan away. Despite the pain, he gripped the pendant and released the pendant's power one last time...

oOo

Yukimitsu had been steadily watching his laptop, noting the figures which recorded the amount of magic going on inside the Deimon building using analytic data. Things had gone as he expected, he'd watched the amount of magic rise steadily during the first round of Hiruma's fight with Agon, and then suddenly it all dispersed and disappeared. Alarmed, he scanned the building's the security cameras, but could not find traces of Hiruma or Agon anywhere. Everything was now dark in the room he had last seen them in.

He felt his heart hammer against his chest, as he sensed something worse was about to come. Then he turned back to his laptop, hoping against hope that what he was dreading wouldn't be possible. But as he watched the level of magic within the building, a second wave of panic hit him when the numbers suddenly soared.

He knew things were bad now. Still staring at his laptop, and hardly noticing his surroundings, he ran towards the chaos, hoping to catch Musashi or anyone that could help him access the building, but was shocked at the sight before him.

The students that were fighting earlier had fallen to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. Everyone else watched in confusion and horror. "What the heck is going on?" shouted Rui, as he watched one student before him fall in pain.

"Something's not right…" said Unsui, as he set the bag full of smoke bombs down.

Karin also watched in surprise, but then shivered a little. "This feeling... it's familiar..."

Musashi looked around and spotted Yukimitsu, who was now back on the ground typing rapidly away on his laptop. "Do you know what just happened? What's wrong with the students?"

Yukimitsu shook his head at first, and then he suddenly stopped and seemed taken aback at what he saw on the screen. "This is insane... Munakata and the others... I don't know what they did, but they seem to have cast some kind of spell on the students. An illegal one, too! And whatever's going on in the building right now, it's drawing away at whatever magic these students have!"

"Magic? But these guys barely showed any signs of magic when we were fighting with them!" cried Musashi.

"I think that's the point," said Yukimitsu, his voice shaking slightly. "They rarely use their magic, depending only on brute strength which is partly bestowed by their innate powers as well. This makes them perfect candidates for moments where you need huge amounts of magic as they've rarely used it, and yet their powers are still open for use. If I deduce correctly, Agon's using that pendant to draw every last drop of magic from these students, and do something terrible..."

"That's it!" cried Karin. "This spell! That's what they did to me! And probably to Mamori!"

"Someone call Sena and get him to rush into the building! Kurita, Ha-Ha Brothers, head there first! Warn Mamori!" cried Musashi. He then rushed towards Munakata, who was tied up by one of the sidewalks. "Now, you tell me what you did to these students."

Munakata hesitated for a moment, and then grinned humorlessly. "Well, since Agon's using this, it means that he's down to his last straw... This technique acts much like a vacuum, trying to suck as much magic as it can from the people we designate the spell to. The thing about our magic is that the moment we run out of magic, it's either we lose consciousness and fall into a coma from the loss... or find a way to produce more. The less a person uses their magic, the more magic is stored within."

"But what about me?" said Karin, appearing behind Musashi. "You did that to me, didn't you? But instead of producing more magic, I seem to have lost any signs of magic."

"That's because your powers are completely sealed off now after years of being dormant. No spell could release it," sneered Munakata. "You're pretty much a non-magical person now."

Karin wasn't sure how to take such news. "T-then Mamori..."

"We always thought we were close to getting her to fully awaken and become the only person to fully possess celestial powers," said Munakata. "But she never showed signs of power until she was in danger. Something we should have considered."

Sena was running towards them now, Suzuna skating close behind him. "What's going on? The students-"

"No time! Something's going on in the building! We've got to stop Agon and save-" But Musashi was cut off as a loud bang came from the building.

Hiruma barely had time to process what Agon had just done. He could tell Agon had casted a powerful spell that was causing a sudden surge of magical power to fill the room, rushing towards the pendant and Agon's body as if drawn to him. "Fucking dreads!" he cried.

Agon laughed as he stood up, feeling stronger now that he was filled with so much power. "Just what I needed. And now... I'll-" But Agon suddenly wavered, as a wave of nausea hit him. "Too... much... power..." he groaned, leaning against the wall. Try as he might to stop the spell, he realized it was too late. There was no way of stopping this, and he was going to be consumed by all the power.

Hiruma noticed this, and quickly reached out to grab the pendant, but Agon pulled away. "No!" Agon cried. "You'll destroy it!"

Hiruma growled and punched Agon straight in the face, easily knocking him unconscious. "Fucking idiot!" he cried, as he finally grabbed the pendant from Agon's open wrist.

The moment Hiruma held the pendant; he knew the power was way too overwhelming to be controlled. There was no way of stopping the flow of magic from rushing through the pendant like this, and if this kept up, the power would consume everyone within the Deimon campus. He knew he had no choice, as everything he had studied or learnt to this point pointed to the only one thing he could do in such a situation.

Take it all in and prepare to die

He gripped the pendant and focused the flow of magic towards himself, taking all the hits. If he could just contain the power using whatever demon powers he had and allow it to overwhelm him and only him, then all the wrongs Agon had caused, from the fucking monkey to Mamori, could finally be right. Then finally... finally...

Despite the amount of pain he was feeling, he opened his eyes to at least have one last look at Mamori… but she wasn't lying down on the floor anymore. She was walking very slowly towards him.

Hiruma let out a cry. He wanted to shout at her to stop and not come to him. She would be taken in by the strong powers as well if she came any closer, and would die from it too. But her half dazed look was also filled with determination, and with each painful step she took, she drew closer to him.

Hiruma was falling in and out of consciousness now. He knew there wasn't much time left. Mamori was before him now. She had fallen to her knees and had her arms wrapped around him. The amount of power was strong now, and was choking him. Just before he finally succumbed, the last thing he remembered was the warmth of Mamori's arms and the soft sounds of her breathing.

And then with a loud bang, everything went blank.

oOo

The moment the explosion happened, everyone fell silent. Then Sena heard Monta give a little cry as he fell onto the ground, and before everyone's eyes, he began to transform back into a human. Musashi took out his lightly torn jacket and put it over Monta, who was blinking now, looking dazed. "W-what...?" he said.

What just happened?" Suzuna cried to Musashi, then she gasped when she saw Monta.

"But wait…" said Unsui. "If he's turned back into a human, then…"

Sena felt as though he was struck by lightning as he realized that something was definitely wrong. He zoomed back into the building where Hiruma was and passed by Kurita, Komusubi and the Ha-Ha brothers on their backs, facing the blue sky after the explosion happened.

Sena wasn't sure which room to head to, but he checked every level until he finally found the room with the most damage. He looked around and found the room almost reduced to rubble and what was left was filled with smoke and debris. Sena coughed and looked around. He found Agon lying against the wall, looking badly bruised and unconscious. He looked around some more, but could not find Hiruma anywhere.

Then he heard Suzuna skate towards the room. "Sena! I found you! I got my brother to take Monta to the hospital. He seems to be recovering well. But have you seen Mamo-nee? She's not at the post where she's meant to be!"

Sena's eyes widened as he looked around. Hiruma wasn't here… neither was Mamori… it can't be… "Stay here," he told Suzuna. "I'll check the rest of the building. Tell the others that Hiruma and Mamori are missing. Oh, and take Agon away, he looks badly beaten up." With that, Sena zoomed again through the corridors.

But try as he might, he could find no trace of Hiruma or Mamori anywhere within the building. Even as he left the building and checked around the campus, it was becoming more evident… Hiruma and Mamori were gone. Dread and despair rose within him as he rushed back to the room where everything had happened. Musashi, Kurita, Komusubi, Rui and a number of others were hanging around the room. Agon was taken away, while Yukimitsu continued to scan and analyze the room.

"Did you find him?" asked Kurita, unable to hide his fear and worry. "Did you find Hiruma?"

"Calm down, Kurita," said Musashi, placing his hand on Kurita's back. But even Musashi was unable to hide the fear in his voice. "Sena?" he asked, looking at Sena almost desperately.

Sena quivered a little, sighed then shook his head.

"Mamo-nee, too?" said Suzuna, tears welling in her eyes the moment Sena nodded.

Musashi turned towards Yukimitsu. "Can you find out what happened?"

Yukimitsu shook his head as he continued typing and analyzing the data he was getting. "It's impossible to guess what happened... All I can say is that a lot of power was concentrated in here, and it was somehow contained for a few minutes before it finally broke free and the powers returned to the students. But..." He stopped typing. "Other than knowing both Hiruma and Mamori were here as there are traces of their power around this room, I cannot tell what happened to them."

A number of citizens had crowded in front of the Deimon campus now, shouting their surprise at the sight of the fallen students, who were now slowly getting up. It was then that Musashi realized that dawn had finally settled in. He had never realized how bright the sun was until that moment.

Two policemen rushed towards the room and demanded to know what had happened. "We saw that student, Agon, downstairs looking badly injured. Were you all a part of the Demon's scheme? Where is he? You will all be arrested..."

"He's gone," said Musashi, his voice steady

The policemen were stunned by this. "What? But..."

"As you can see by the condition of this room, something terrible has happened here," said Musashi, having decided to take the role of leading everyone who looked at a loss. "Have a search if you will, but we have looked for him ourselves. He is gone."

"Wait," said one of the policemen, eyeing Musashi suspiciously. "He could be under the Demon's spell."

"No, we're free of his spell," said Musashi, though he looked grimmer now. "I have just checked everyone, and we searched for him to demand an explanation as to why he did this to us. But he's gone... he left us with no answers…"

The policemen looked at each other, both their jaws dropped. "V-very well," said one of them. "We will conduct a search and we may ask each of you some questions later... so don't leave this building."

And they both left in a hurry. Sena quickly rushed up to Musashi, "Why did you lie?" he demanded.

"That's what he wanted," said Musashi, as he rubbed his temple. "He told me that if ever any of the authorities demanded to know why we were with him, he said to tell them that he cast a spell on us."

"But they will know it's not true if they do a proper search," said Yukimitsu.

"Forge it then," said Musashi, looking at Yukimitsu. "Or find a loophole to claim that it's hard to detect such powers because it's new or something. I don't know, I don't care, just..."

Suzuna watched as Kurita suddenly burst into tears and Komusubi tried to calm him down. The Ha-Ha Brothers looked especially disturbed at the fact that Mamori was gone as well. Karin looked down and crossed her arms, crying silently as Unsui wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Sena looked as though he could cry, as she herself swallowed a sob that was building in her throat. None of them knew what to do now, or how to react to this reality.

It felt so gloomy in the room that Suzuna couldn't understand how the sun could shine so brightly outside. Or even how the citizens of Deimon, upon hearing what the policemen had just said, were now celebrating.

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_No one mourns the Wicked  
Now at last he's dead and gone  
Now at last there's joy throughout the land_

Suzuna felt a tear fall when she heard them say that dreaded word. "Dead..." Unsui whispered. "The policemen had taken the story further by saying he's dead."

"But they don't know, do they?" said Karin. "That Mamori is gone too."

Silence fell upon them once more, a long drawn out moment that Suzuna couldn't take anymore. Rubbing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Suzuna skated forward and said, "We can't stay here feeling sorry for ourselves, or feeling as though we've lost. Get up, everything will be all right! Yes, we're forced to live with the lie that Hiruma is a demon, and that Mamo-nee was a victim to this. But this is what they wanted, wasn't it? They knew they couldn't change what people thought of them, and yet they fought for what they believed in! So we ourselves have to believe in them! Someday..." she looked at Yukimitsu for a moment, and then at Sena. "Someday we'll have enough proof to show that what they did was not in vain. Someday we'll show the citizens that their views of magic is wrong. That power isn't everything, and not everything that looks evil is instantly wicked. But until then..."

"We must be strong," said Sena, finishing her sentence. He walked up to her and held his hand out. Suzuna felt tears well up in her eyes again, but she smiled this time as she held Sena's hand. She looked around, and though there was still sadness within the room, everyone's small smiles were filled with a little hope.

"You're right," said Yukimitsu, looking at his laptop sadly. "We're all that's left to help change people's perception on magic."

"Let's go then," Sena continued. "Let's do our best to change this place. So that even magic users like us can play Football once more. For now, we need to at least inform Zokugaku and Teikoku on what has happened."

There were nods of agreement, as Sena then led Suzuna out of the room and headed outside of the building where the sounds of the cheering crowd grew.

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_Good news!  
Good news..._

"A-are you sure?" asked Suzuna uncertainly.

"Actually, I'm not, said Sena, smiling a little. "The policemen told us to stay in the building. But we have to do something. The police can question us later. Though... you know..." he hesitated. "Are you sure you want to do this? Especially if you still want to be with me... You won't be able to be a cheerleader anymore and-"

Suzuna shook her head. "No, that's not important to me anymore. I was so selfish back then, thinking that the only way I can do what I love is by being a cheerleader. But there are more important things than that. Sena...

**[Suzuna]**  
_Who can say if I've been  
Changed for the better?  
But..._

**[Sena]** (smiling)  
_Because I knew you..._

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_No one mourns the Wicked..._

**[Suzuna]**  
_Because I knew you..._

**[Sena & Suzuna]**  
_I have been changed..._

**[Citizens of Deimon]**  
_No one mourns the Wicked!  
Wicked!  
Wicked!_

With that, Sena and Suzuna walked determinedly outside, facing that bright sunny day.

* * *

**Extra Notes:** And that's it for-*gets rotten food thrown at her* ARGH! WAIT! NO! I'M SORRY! Okay, yes, I'm sorry for the crappy ending of the last chapter. But there's an epilogue! So I hope you guys would look out for that! Would post it sometime tomorrow. I just have a few things to go through before posting it up.

Till then, if you have any questions about this story or even to myself as a writer, do feel free to ask them. A few more questions related to the story WILL be answered in the epilogue, but you can still ask about it to be sure that I state it in there.

I hope you've enjoyed the insane journey I've brought you guys so far. :)


	20. Epilogue

**Warnings:** AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!

**Notes:** Well, the epilogue is short but it should solve most of what has happened. If it doesn't, do let me know, ok? And we're back to being in present tense here, just like the prologue. Enjoy!

* * *

Musashi sinks heavily into his van seat, trying to suppress the sigh that is about to escape his lips. It has been a long day, as question after question rained down on him and his friends over what had just happened this morning. Miraculously, the police did not bother to detain any of them, considering them to be no more than nuisances since they confirmed Hiruma's disappearance and were now more intent on looking for Mamori. Her parents are worried sick, but all any of them could do at the time was hang their head low and apologize for the lack of information.

The sky is now a dark shade of orange. To everyone in Deimon, the clear blue weather was yet another sign of celebration to the news of Hiruma's death. It did not suit Musashi's feelings well today and he is clearly disgusted by the beautiful sunset.

Informing the others had been no easy task. Rui had gone berserk at the news and started wrecking public property. It took Megu and the other Zokugaku students quite some time to calm him down. Monta was currently in the hospital, but when Sena called to inform him of what happened to Mamori, the poor boy's joy at finally being human again was broken as he burst into tears. Taki was, for the first time, completely silent by the news. The Ha-Ha brothers said nothing as they left without even saying goodbye. Karin and Unsui had taken the task of informing Yamato and the others. They were calm, but were obviously distressed by the news.

As for the students of Deimon they had previously been fighting, they were recovering well despite having lost all memory of Agon and what he did to them. Agon seemed to have been hit the worst however, losing all memory prior to acquiring the pendant. This made things even harder for anyone to reveal that Agon was truly the mastermind behind everything. Munakata, along with a number of professors in his league, silently disappeared not long after the morning's incident.

The sound of hope still rings on though. Sena and Suzuna had agreed to continue studying in Deimon College in hopes of someday helping to change the games system in Deimon. Yukimitsu is more determined than ever to properly study magical uses and create reports that would help exchange the current view on it to a more favorable one. Musashi would have liked to help in some way, but he decided that he would follow in his father's footsteps and go into construction... for now.

Everything is slowly falling back to place, even though there has been an incredible amount of change ever since. This is what they would have wanted, all of them keep saying to themselves. Yes, this is what they wanted.

Musashi starts the van, and is about to drive off when a flash of the dying sunset struck his eyes. He tugged down the visor to shield himself from the glare...

And that is when an envelope falls onto his lap. Musashi blinks in surprise, but picks it up. He opens it and quickly scans the letter to see who wrote it.

It was Mamori who had written the letter. Hastily, he reads it.

_Dear Musashi,_

_I hope that when you read this letter, everything would have been over. I hope no one was badly injured and that everyone is doing well. I'm writing this just as we're about to set off. My hands can't stop shaking so excuse the bad writing._

_If everything is truly over, then I hope me and Hiruma are alive as well. If that's the case, then you can discard this letter. But if everything really didn't go as well as we hoped, then I'm sorry. If I do turn up dead, please send my body back to my parents. And if possible, I would like to be buried next to Hiruma._

Musashi pauses for a moment. But their bodies weren't found? He carries on reading.

_As Hiruma has told you before, if the police start questioning you, please claim that everyone was under Hiruma's spell. And though I know this will hurt my parents… but if I am dead, tell them I did it fully on my own accord and that I truly believed in Hiruma. It may break their hearts, and it's impossible to change their perspective, but I want them to hate me for what had happened, not Hiruma._

_But... if you can't find me and Hiruma, be it alive or dead... then I have good news and bad news. The good news is that this is proof that Hiruma and I are quite possibly alive. But whether we are well or uninjured is something we can't be sure of. I spoke to him earlier about the possibility of the both of us being in the center of Agon's plan and whether we could transport ourselves someplace safe. We figured out that it is possible, yet dangerous. And that's where the bad news is. We don't know where we'll end up, or whether the spell would leave us injured or broken. But we should be alive... Yes, I want to believe if that happens, then we are._

_If we really have disappeared, then wait for us. Don't tell my parents or anyone unnecessarily. I don't want to give them false hope, especially since they still hold a false perception of Hiruma. We'll find our way back to Deimon. Be it months or years, we WILL return. Hopefully, stronger than ever to help change Deimon._

_Take care,  
Mamori_

Musashi couldn't help but laugh after reading the letter. He regains himself, as he drives up the road to pick up Kurita. It would probably be best to not tell everyone about this right now. But he is glad, very glad, that their hopes are not in vain. "Still..." he mutters to himself with a smile. "I was right. You two really are such idiots."

oOo

Hiruma blinks as he tries to regain his vision. His body feels numb, and it doesn't seem as though he can move it anytime soon. But he feels a warm hand on his cheek, and it is enough to assure him that it is all right for now. Images soon become clearer, and his eyes narrow against the sunlight streaming through the leaves above him, and beyond that was Mamori's worn but smiling face.

"Looks like you're up," she says, still smiling.

He grins in return. "About fucking time, I suppose? How long have I been out?"

"I don't know," she replies. "I've lost track of time. I think I've been awake for about an hour? Maybe less? Maybe more? I really don't know... But you were lying next to me, and you looked pretty uncomfortable. So I moved you. I hope you don't mind."

Hiruma then realizes that his head is on her lap, and she is leaning against a strong and sturdy looking tree. He tries to move his head to look at his surroundings, but he has yet to regain motor functions of his body. He curses a little.

"Still can't move?" asks Mamori.

"Keh," he replies. "Well, I did take most of the fucking brunt so I guess I shouldn't expect to recover anytime soon. How about you?"

"I can't move my legs," she says sheepishly. "It was no easy task dragging you to me, which is why I refuse to be moved for now."

Hiruma cackles. "Fuck, you are crazy. You should be just as dead as me. You took the full force of Fucking Dread's spell, didn't you?"

Mamori ponders for a moment. "Yeah, I believe I did. But he tried to do it to me before, and it didn't quite work out the first time. I wasn't sure why… but now I'm sure." She looks down at Hiruma and smiles. "Every time Agon tried to harm me, something would protect me and help release my celestial powers. The feeling was familiar, but now I'm sure… it was you, Hiruma. It was your presence that I felt."

Hiruma closes his eyes. "Ah, so it really was because of me that you gained full control of your powers. So back at Deimon, when Agon released the pendant's powers..."

"I was hit, yes," she says. "And I was injured by it, but I didn't take the full blow, and then my celestial powers for healing kicked in and I started healing myself a little. So when I saw you in that state, I had enough power to stand up and well... you know the rest."

"So that spell actually worked," mused Hiruma, rather amused by the fact. "And because you were there, you used your celestial powers to protect me from being totally consumed, didn't you? Keh, in the end I did just what the Fucking Dreads wanted to do..."

"Except I did this out of my own will. I wasn't controlled," she glares mockingly at him. "But I'm glad you're all right. My letter to Musashi won't be in vain then."

"So you didn't just leave to fucking save those fucking idiots from hurting themselves. You gave him that letter you wrote."

"I left it in his van, I hope he finds it." Mamori looks ahead of her now. There are a few trees scattered around the big field they are in. There seems to be a road in the distance but it could be her eyes playing tricks on her. "I have no idea where we are though... we could even be in another country."

"It's fine," he says as he begins to feel weary. "We fucking promised, didn't we?"

"That we'd find our way back to Deimon..."

"And this time, we crush whoever gets in our way. There's no reason for them to fucking stop us now."

Mamori smiles. "Well, hopefully we can gain some knowledge while we're here that may come to our advantage. But until then..."

Hiruma grins widely. Yes, it may take months or years for them to fully recover and return to Deimon. But she is with him. She is looking at him with weary eyes that are threatening to close as well. But he could still feel the warmth of her hand over his cheek. It was hard to believe, but things are going to be better from now on. He could feel it. Deep inside, he felt certain that he could overcome his awful past, move forward and crush anything that was in his way.

Because he truly understands now that he is not alone. "Until then," he continues. "You're going to have to fucking bear with me."

Mamori laughs. There is no denying how insane things have turned out to be. But for once, she found a path where she knew who she was and could keep going on. "Right. And you should know by now that you won't have things easy with me either."

He cackles just before he drifts back to sleep. "That's just the way I like it. Ya-ha!"

* * *

**Extra Notes:** And this story is officially done. *breathes a sigh of relief* I'm so glad I actually finished this. I knew if I were to have taken my time, I would have lost interest in it and left it hanging for long periods of time. It could be a good thing, as maybe then I wouldn't have rushed through the last few chapters so much and try to draw it out a little. But I think it would've been unfair to the few who are truly enjoying this story. The last fic I wrote, it took me 3 years to finally get to the end. This story was at risk of that.

So erm, I'm just gonna go ahead and let you guys know that I don't think I'll be writing anything like this anytime soon. This has to be one of my most ambitious piece of fanfic, but rereading it made me realize it has a lot of flaws, particularly on how I handled Hiruma and how I set up this magical world. And as I look at how things are for me currently, I need to focus on my work more than invest too much of my time on stories like these.

Even so, I will continue writing drabbles for HiruMamo. Hey, it's what I'm good at (I think), and it's not as time consuming as this. So do look out for that.

My heart goes out to all the commentors who have steadily followed this fic from the beginning. That especially means you, Ibby. Thank you so much for your comments and for following this fic up until now. It really means a lot to me.

And of course, I have to give all my writing love to my best friend (her account is Elis) who had been supporting me, and carried on believing in me and my mediocre ability to write. The pokes still hurt, but you were my main drive to keep writing no matter the odds.

So thank you everyone. ^^ And as a parting gift, to those who enjoyed this story being themed around "Wicked", I suggest listening to Idina Menzel's version of Defying Gravity, Live on Soundstage. She changes the lyrics in the middle and takes the lyrics from "The Wizard and I", which I think can suit Hiruma and Mamori's situation at the end of the story. ^^

_Unlimited  
My future is unlimited  
And I've just had a vision  
Almost like a prophecy  
I know  
It sounds truly crazy  
And true, the vision's hazy  
But I swear, someday I'll be  
Flying so high  
Defying gravity..._


End file.
